DOLLY’S DREAMS

Winding our way through the tree lined avenues of Gulshan, we got out into the main thoroughfares of Dhaka the teaming mega-city capital of Bangladesh with a population of about 12 million people. We soon realized the bubble that Gulshan was – though not entirely unaware of it, it still is an overwhelming sense when you step out to other parts of Dhaka. To say that there was traffic congestion would be a huge understatement. You could shake hands quite easily with those in a vehicle alongside you – you could even feed that person, hug him or her, adjust his neck tie….just about anything. Inches separated vehicles from each other and for what seemed to be a very long time, one was just stuck on some of those roads. You could actually have full conversations with your co-travellers on that road even if you are in different vehicles. But it was also an indication of the sense of enterprise and dynamism of this amazing city – just about anybody was busy doing something in myriad chores, activities and enterprises. And we were soon to witness one such initiative. Though it was January (2010), there wasn’t any nippiness in the air – it was warm and humid.

We were dropped off the main road, opposite the imposing head quarters of BRAC, Bangladesh’s pride and one of the pioneers of micro finance, which had since then diversified into several other businesses including telecommunications. The plush buildings of upmarket Gulshan were still visible. But right across was a turbid water body, a lake, the stench from which soon filled our nostrils. And across the lake was a teeming slum, or an ‘informal settlement’, to use an euphemism. Small boats ferried visitors and dwellers to Korail, home to about 1 million inhabitants of this informal settlement. We got into one of the boats, rather gingerly, wondering about the safety of these and our sanity in agreeing to be ferried across this short distance. We looked down at the water – it was thick and dark in colour. It needed no imagination or explanation for us to realize that this was pretty much an open sewer that brought in the waste from this entire settlement. No wonder the stench was so overpowering. Soon enough, we could feel it at the bottom of our tongues, deep in our lungs – fumes, yes, it was more like fumes. Undaunted though, the chaps ferrying us went about with their business, turning around for yet one of the several hundreds of trips they must be doing, each day, for all days in a year, oblivious to that stench. In the evening, they would retire to their little hovels in this very settlement. This was the main source of their livelihood and they could not possibly be bothered with trivialities such as an assault to their olfactory sensitivities !!!

We started walking around the narrow lanes of settlement, so narrow that only one person could walk through at most times. It was easy to peep into the huts as we walked past. Most of them were temporary constructions of wood, tiles, tin sheets, gunny bags, cardboard – just about anything that could pass as potential building material. The huts were clean though, just about 100 square feet each at most, which probably was home to 4 – 8 people. That space served as living room by day and bed room by night, with the kitchen being one of the corners. Many houses had brightly decorated walls – cuttings from bill boards, advertisements, local cricketing heroes, film stars, including some Bollywood celebrities. Everyone appeared busy – cooking, cleaning, selling, making toys, handicrafts. No one was idle – no one could afford to be idle. The city was merciless and would not tolerate anyone idling away their time – every penny was precious, every taka had to be earned the hard way. It was survival of the fittest !

Soon, we came to what looked like a small shop. A group of teenage girls greeted us. Dressed very neatly in colourful clothes with their hair neatly tied with bright ribbons, there was an air of business about them. “Good afternoon and welcome to our neighbourhood”, a smart looking girl, probably not more than 14 or 15 said chirpily. “I am Dolly and I am the leader of our association”.

As we made enough space for us to stand and listen to her, she narrated their story. WaterAid had been supporting a local organization, DSK, to work with the community on addressing water and sanitation issues. This involved working with the Dhaka utility to supply water for which the local community would pay a charge. This was a huge victory in itself as an informal settlement was now getting legal water connections after almost a decade of DSK and the local community lobbying for it. They had also constructed community latrines so that people had no longer to use their ‘hanging latrines’ (which basically was a platform made with bamboo and covered with gunny bags for privacy which people used as latrines, the waste from which was disposed directly into the lake water below – and that explained the stench) – and this was catering to a section of the 1 million population. But hygiene was equally important. Hand washing with soap before eating and after going to the latrine was key.

However, the girls raised the issue of menstrual hygiene, they said. They had no facilities to keep themselves clean when they had their monthly periods. They lacked privacy, they didn’t have access to sanitary pads – and that meant that unhygienic practices were very prevalent among the girls and women and they suffered the constant indignity of having to live with this biological phenomenon. The women had lived with this for long, but the girls wanted things to be different.

This had led to discussion on menstrual hygiene practices and facilities. The silence had to be broken – and who else to take the lead but the adolescent girls themselves, who, uninhibited and assertive, wanted this to be addressed. Dolly was one of their spokespersons who led the process of change. Over a period of time, they set up these facilities but also ensured that the girls and women had access to sanitary pads, for which they set up their own sanitary pad making unit. Sold at an affordable price, it also meant a small source of income for the group of girls making them. And that is what they were so proudly showing us – their little shop, selling sanitary pads, but also other items – soaps, detergents, books, pens and pencils.

“We feel very confident now and we feel that we have the power to change if we can articulate our needs and assert them” said Dolly, very proudly. That look of confidence and dignity radiated on the faces of the other girls, who had come to meet us and talk about their initiative.

As we were leaving, I asked Dolly what her dream was. She aspired to be a doctor, she said. She had seen enough illnesses in her community and enough suffering. She hoped she could so something to alleviate that !

As we took the ferry back to get into our cars, the stench was still overpowering. But it was replaced by a deep sense of optimism that change is happening, and the leadership is in the right hands. Dolly was truly inspiring in advocating for something that was a matter of deep taboo. No more ! Will she realize here dream ? Am pretty sure she will !

TOWARDS A BETTER LIFE

A swank new airport greeted us as we landed in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. I remember this being constructed the last time I was here, a couple of years ago. Built with Chinese investment, it was a statement of Mozambique’s economic growth, estimated at around 7%, fuelled by coal and natural gas discoveries. That said, this beautiful country in southern Africa is still one of the poorest and least developed countries, ranking 184 out of the 187 countries ranked on the human development index by the UN.

Visiting the bairro of Costa da Sol along Maputo’s coast was going to be interesting. I had been here five years ago when WaterAid’s team in Mozambique had just initiated a multi-year water, sanitation and hygiene programme. This is a large settlement of about 17,000 families. Inhabited largely by the fishing community, this neighbourhood was visibly very poor. Thatched houses were a common site. Women struggled to get safe water. A powerful image that troubled me on my last visit was the trek that women made to a pit, a few metres deep a little distance from their homes to collect water, dirty water, scooped out of the sand laden pit, their only ‘reliable’ source of drinking water.

Estamos, a national NGO started working in the neighbourhood with WaterAid’s support. The funding for the programme came from the European Union. The initial phase was on hygiene promotion with the help of locally identified and trained motivators or animators. Their role was to go from house to house and promote messages of washing hands before eating and after going to the toilet. Messages on protecting the water used for drinking were promoted. And more importantly, discussions were held with households on the need to stop defecating in the open and for improved latrines, appropriate for the area. This was very important since cholera was one of the most common illnesses. At the start of the programme, there were 371 reported cases of cholera, as per the local health authorities.

Having been convinced about the need for a toilet, the next task was to encourage families to construct improved latrines, with an appropriate cement slab, that would ensure that human excreta is safely collected. Where there were ‘unimproved’ latrines, i.e. latrines that could potentially be a health hazard, the task was to convince people to discontinue the use of these latrines and replace them with the improved latrines.

To ensure the quality of the slabs, Estamos had set up a slab production centre. Various models appropriate for the location were demonstrated. The slabs were distributed free of cost to those who were identified as needy and poor. But these had to be transported to the construction site by the families, who also had the responsibility of digging the pit and constructing the superstructure at their own cost.

Availability of water was a key challenge. This required Estamos to work closely with Agua de Mozambique (AdeM), the water utility. As part of the programme, water kiosks were constructed which were operated mostly by women identified and supported by the community. There was a pre-paid billing system based on which water was purchased by the operator, for selling it onwards to the local community. The rate typically was 0.5 metical for 20 litres, which was just half the cost of what private providers were supplying in the area. For those who could afford, AdeM were persuaded to provide household connections with a deposit of 2,500 metical and a minimum rate of 250 metical for 10 cubic metres of water per day. This was later found out to be high and unaffordable. It was thus decided to reduce the minimum consumption slab to 5 cubic metres, costing 145 metical.

Meanwhile, the community association that was formed, grew in strength. With regular hygiene promotion, family based interaction and their involvement in the production centre, their confidence and profile grew. Responding to a call for bids by the municipality for solid waste collection, the association bid for and won the contract to collect and dispose solid waste. It is now an enterprise that employs 15 local youth.

It was fascinating to hear this story on my return back to Costa da Sol after 5 years. Many houses had moved to household connection thus reducing the dependence on the kiosks. While that meant that the business in the kiosk shrunk, it was positive from the access point of view as more families had water taps in their courtyards, saving time for the women in particular. It was also a matter of dignity to have a household water connection !  The association had a reasonable business. The women motivators were still active. With most houses having improved latrines, demand for slabs was low and business was down. But the production centre has now become a demonstration centre for the local municipality, schools, other NGOs and communities who constantly visit the centre to learn and understand various sanitation options.

But the biggest change was the significant reduction in incidence of cholera. From 371 in 2004-05, the rate had fallen to a mere 21 in 2008-09. There is still a challenge to eradicate it completely. There are newer families who are moving in and with each new entrant to the community, the hygiene work needs to be taken to them. But there is confidence that the killer disease is now under control – a combination of better hygiene awareness and access to water and sanitation facilities. This has been recognized as a major success by the Maputo municipality and the local health authorities as well. Perhaps, as a result of this, the houses also look very different – better constructed houses, more sturdy and durable.

Getting access to water and sanitation is still a challenge in Mozambique. Only 70% of the urban population have access to water and 47% to sanitation. The Mayor of Maputo, David Simango, is keenly aware of the migration into Maputo and its impact on the water and sanitation services. As he said, “There are challenges for Maputo. But there is a master plan in place for providing water and sanitation services and for solid waste management. Some things are changing. Local communities are participating more actively, people are contributing to local projects and their maintenance, people are more aware….and incidence of cholera is reducing’ !