Shayera Khanom, mother of four, lived in the Valukia village under Ratnapalong union of Ukhiya. Her husband died 5 years ago. She alone handles the expenses of her whole family. It is very tiresome for her to maintain the expenses of the four children all alone.
To earn bread for her family, Shayera works at others’ house as a domestic help.
As the only breadwinner of the family, Shayera has to struggle a lot to make ends meet. Where, household latrine is nothing but a luxury for them far from affording. She and her children had to use neighbor’s latrine when needed.
According to Shayera, neighbors didn’t like to share their latrine with other family. So, it seemed insulting to Shayera’s family to use neighbor’s latrine. As a result, they had to limit the use to avoid any discomfort. This caused health issues as well for them.
Having a latrine of their own could have made Shayera’s life easier.
While attending HYSAWA’s courtyard sessions, Shayera got to know that, even she can get an improved household latrine with the help of HYSAWA. She saw a hope and shared her situation with the Community Organizer of HYSAWA. HYSAWA team visited her house and after realizing the need they decided to give a latrine to Shayera’ family.
Shayera said, “After getting the latrine, our suffering has lessened. Also we don’t have to be ashamed and no longer have to endure insult of neighbors.” She also said that, “We always keep the latrine clean and use sandals. After using latrine we wash hands
with soap. That is why; nowadays we don’t get infected by any disease like cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, and typhoid. We learnt about the hygiene management from HYSAWA”
“Now I have my own latrine, thanks to HYSAWA. I and my children don’t have to use neighbor’s latrine anymore. We have now a better life.” She added.
Case study collected by Mostafa Mohammad Tahan, Media & Communication Officer, HYSAWA, March 2022.