AGORA XXI: BLOG OF THE COMMUNITY OF SAINT PAUL

Great Progress in an Environmental Health Program in the Dominican Republic

For years, the Community of Saint Paul has been carrying forward a program of construction of latrines in the territory of La Sagrada Familia parish in Sabana Yegua.  The Southwest of the Dominican Republic, within which the parish is located, is the less developed region in the country.  In this area there is an urgent sanitary necessity to have decent, hygienic and economical toilets which provide privacy and dignity.  However few families have a bathroom, with a septic tank, within the house because it is very expensive.  Single family latrines (outhouses) are more common. Through the Environmental Health Program of the parish, there are now more and more people who can have one of these outhouse/toilets.\

Most families in the parish cannot afford to pay for the complete cost of a new latrine, which is about $300US. Therefore, the family contributes by digging the dry well and helping provide some of the construction labor. The cost of the construction materials and the experienced construction labor is funded by the parish and generous donors of the Community of St. Paul.

Through this collaboration, more than one thousand outhouses have already been constructed. Yet, there are still three hundred families within the parish without one of these latrines.

Among the reasons for the people who want to have such a toilet are, of course, sanitation, hygiene, and prevention of infections.  Equally important, however, as learned in community meetings prior to initiating the project, are several other motivations, more related to personal issues, such as not having to have to go to the outskirts or the village or countryside to “do one’s necessities” .  Some comments that we usually hear are: “I am old and if I have to go out at night to go to the bathroom, I want a toilet next to my house so that I don’t fall in the dark and break something”; “I don’t want my young girls to be exposed to some thug or unsavory person”.  Another proud woman says, “When visitors come to my house, I want to be able to offer them a decent toilet”.  The Environmental Health Program offers such toilets to families of scant resources. They see an important part of their life improved and, at the same time, the environment that surrounds them is improved.

In 2014, the program was able to build 194 latrines thanks to generosity of several donors and the collaboration of the families and parish leadership. Let’s hope that in 2015 we can build 300 more!