New sanitation facilities will improve health, safety, and dignity for families.
The Rotary E-Club of Sunshine, New York, has launched its first international service project of the new Rotary year—an initiative providing sanitary toilets to families in rural Bangladesh.
The project, titled “Toilets for Health,” supports Rotary’s area of focus of Maternal and Child Health, which the Club is highlighting during July. When completed, the project will provide five hygienic toilets for five families living in villages where safe and private sanitation facilities are extremely limited.
The first two toilets have already been completed and formally handed over to the recipient families. Construction of the remaining three facilities is expected to be completed soon. Altogether, at least 35 women, men, and children will directly benefit from the project.
For families in these communities, the new toilets represent far more than a physical structure. They provide privacy, personal safety, improved hygiene, and protection from illnesses associated with inadequate sanitation.
Before the project began, women and girls often had no private place to use a toilet. Many were forced to wait until after dark and walk to secluded outdoor areas, exposing them to discomfort, health risks, insects, snakes, and potential personal danger.
Bathing and washing were also difficult. Families frequently depended on a nearby pond that had become polluted through heavy use.
“Before the toilet was built, the women and girls in our family had to wait until it was dark to go outside,” Monika, a local mother said. “Now we have privacy and feel much safer. This has brought dignity and peace of mind to our entire family.”
