Access to safely managed sanitation must reach all individuals regardless of their background, physical, or social condition. Vulnerable and marginalized groups, including underprivileged low-income households must be prioritized to receive sanitation assistance.
Suparman’s family was one of the poor households in Pendowo village, Temanggung district. In his small house, he lives with his wife, Paini, and their two adult children. This 70-year-old man is unable to work in the rice fields due to stroke and gout. As a result of his limitation, he heavily relies on his wife’s assistance for daily activities, including when he needed to use a toilet.
“I must carry my husband to the toilet whenever he wanted to use the facility. I guided him and hugged him to the toilet,” Suparman’s wife, Paini recounted. Suparman mentioned that his physical limitations make him difficult to use the toilet is extremely challenging as his family only owned a squatted latrine. “I stood when using the facility and the waste was collected into a bucket,” told Suparman. Building a new latrine is nearly impossible for Suparman’s family. As smallholder farmers and vegetable sellers, their income is only enough to cover their daily needs.
Luckily, this pressing challenge ended in October 2023 when Suparman became one of 55 poor households to receive septic tank grant by Temanggung district government. In this grant implementation, the district government utilizes WASH data collected by USAID IUWASH Tangguh-supported community-based organization. Juwari, a group member, explained that the organization has decided to build a seated latrine with a septic tank for Suparman to make it easier for him to use the facility.
Since November 2023, Suparman and family has shifted from their squatted toilet to the seated one. Suparman shares the positive changes, “Using a sitting toilet is convenient for me. Pungent smell from the village drainages decreases since many families built septic tanks. This has greatly helped my recovery process.” “With support from USAID IUWASH Tangguh, we will continue to advocate for the village government to allocate budget for more septic tank construction.” Juwari promises.
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