Barru District is one of the regions in South Sulawesi Province with the highest coverage of access to improved sanitation, reaching 88.02 percent (results of the 2018 Susenas data processing).
This figure is targeted to increase to 90 percent by 2024. However, the district government still has a lot of work to do to achieve this target.
According to the Head of Bappeda Regional Infrastructure Division, Mr. Syamsubaird Syarifudin, there are still many low-income families who do not have toilets with septic tanks because they cannot afford to build them.
Therefore, Pokja PPAS, with support from USAID IUWASH PLUS, signed a cooperation agreement with BAZNAS to build toilets with individual septic tanks for a total of 140 poor households in seven urban villages in May 2019.
Three of those seven urban villages are USAID IUWASH PLUS partners, namely Mangkoso, Sumpang Binangae, and Mangempang.
This agreement was a result of advocacy that Pokja PPAS and USAID IUWASH PLUS had conducted two months prior.
BAZNAS selected these beneficiaries based on the data collected in January 2020 by the participatory M&E teams from Mangkoso, Sumpang Binangae, and Mangempang villages.
Apart from that, BAZNAS uses the data of survey on household sanitation access using the mWater application. The survey was conducted by Pokja PPAS Barru in eight urban villages and seven villages in the end of 2019.
“We received the data during discussions with Pokja PPAS and USAID IUWASH PLUS. The data help us determine mustahiq (people eligible for receiving zakat) because they provide a real picture in the field,” said the Deputy Chief of BAZNAS in Barru district, Mr. Minu Kalibu.
To realize this cooperation, BAZNAS provided a budget of 325 million rupiahs, while Pokja PPAS managed the construction of toilets with septic tanks, including supervising the construction process to ensure that the facilities are well functioning and safe to use.
Pokja PPAS also worked with the local sanitation entrepreneurs to provide the building materials. In June 2020, Pokja PPAS began the construction of the toilets with septic tanks. As of September 2020, 130 toilets with septic tanks were built, 88 of which are in Mangkoso, Sumpang Binangae, and Mangempang urban villages.
“The toilet with septic tank from BAZNAS is helpful for me because I do not need to use my neighbors’ toilets anymore when nature calls,” said Mrs. Hanis, a beneficiary in Mangkoso urban village.
Seeing the benefits of this cooperation, Mr. Syarifuddin, expected, “With the commitment and trust that have been built, we believe that this collaboration will continue to improve the development of water and sanitation facilities in Barru District.”
Results of the cooperation between the government and all stakeholders in Barru district have received acknowledgment at the national level. In 2020, the Minstry of Health has verified and declared Barru district free from open defecation practices.
In the Sustanainable STBM (community-based total sanitation) Award held in November 2020, Barru district received an award as the First Winner for the Best District/City in Accelerating Efforts to Achieve Open Defecation Free.
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