Building shelters and latrines from poles and slabs
Angel Irene arrived to Uganda on October 16th, 2016, a single mother of two children. When Irene was moved to Agojo Refugee Settlement in Adjumani District, she was relieved to start her life again.
But for months, she lived in her emergency shelter constructed with ad hoc-placed poles which supported a tarp roof. Irene explains that the poles were weak, they often collapsed and the tarp was not entirely waterproof so leaked during the heavy October rains.
Irene’s family didn’t have a latrine so sought relief in the surrounding bushes. Open defecation is one of the biggest health hazards faced in emergency relief settings. Such hygiene practices leave the community at-risk for the spread of fecal-orally transmitted diseases, most notably cholera. In August 2016, open defecation led to the rapid spread of cholera across Pagirinya Refugee Settlement, infecting 50 refugees and nationals. Nevertheless, Irene, her six-month-old daughter and four-year-old son lived in these poor conditions for seven months.
Just like Irene, Duko Matusa and his mother lived in a temporary shelter without a latrine in Palorinya Zone 1 Extension in Moyo District. The two used bushes for a latrine.
To prevent open defecation and improve sanitation and hygiene in the Adjumani and Moyo settlements, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), with funding from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) enacted a project from April 2016 to March 2017.
Under this project, in April, Irene and Matusa were supported with poles to build their shelters, treated slabs and poles to construct household latrines, and a hygiene kit comprised of a tippy tap, jerry cans, a bucket and soap in order to enhance sanitary water collection and handwashing practices.
Matusa, who was eager to transition from his emergency shelter, recounted “I worked almost nonstop for a week to finish the construction of my household latrine and shelter.”
After being supported with the hygiene kit, Matusa explains that he washes his hands every after using the latrine and also cleans his latrine twice a day in order to uphold the best hygiene practices.
With help from neighbors, Irene also constructed her family’s household latrine and shelter as soon as she received poles and treated slabs. The family now lives in a clean home with a clean latrine and tippy-tap for hand washing.
