NGO loo-sens purse strings to pip open defecation

In ATK Nagar under the Uppiliyakudi village panchayat, which had less than 5% houses using toilets, every woman had to wage a battle every day, until two years ago, when an NGO helped them.
NGO loo-sens purse strings to pip open defecation

PUDUKKOTTAI: Defecating and bathing in the open is an issue that many villages in India still face. But defecating and bathing while menstruating? In ATK Nagar under the Uppiliyakudi village panchayat, which had less than 5% houses using toilets, every woman had to wage a battle every day, until two years ago, when an NGO helped them.

As if the periods were not enough, women in the village had to pull out all the stops to relieve themselves. 18-year-old Jeeva Jyoti says that going to the toilet while menstruating was a nightmare for her and her little sister.

"There was a small pit where we used to go for taking a bath and to defecate. The men also had a similar pit nearby, but theirs used to be clean. Our pit used to be full of used napkins, floating in the dirty water. We had no option but to bathe in that same water. None of us had toilets in our house," says Jeeva Jyoti.

It was in 2018 that Gramalaya volunteers laid their eyes on this village. Renuka, a staff of Gramalaya, who stayed close to the village visited the village.

She was horrified by what she saw and knew that this village needed help. There are 135 menstruating women in the village.

With the enthusiastic support of the villagers, like Adakammai, who has become a part of Gramalaya now, the process of making the village open defecation free was started.

"We were desperately seeking help to build toilets. We couldn't tolerate this torture daily. Taking our young daughters outside early in the morning and late at night was unsafe. We were already speaking to NGOs when Gramalaya approached us. 20 women like me joined them to help them with this initiative," says Adakammai.

Gramalaya built toilets in all 135 houses of the village. The villagers bore 25% cost of the toilet and 75% was sponsored by HT Parekh foundation.

"We chose this village as it had less than 5% toilet coverage and was very backward socially, culturally and economically. We gave them door-to-door hygiene education. This is the first village in India where 100% of women are using cloth pads. It is also a village which is 100% open defecation free. It is a role model village," says Sai Damodaran, Founder & CEO of Gramalaya.

While getting villagers to agree to use the toilets was just the first step, the more important step for volunteers was convincing girls and women to use reusable cloth pads. All the women were given a cloth pad to try, and they reported with positive feedback.

"I used to have a burning sensation during my periods and found it difficult to walk to school, and sleep at night while using sanitary napkins. After switching to reusable pads, I don't face those problems. I have made my friends in school also switch to cloth pads," says Jeeva Jyoti.

Even older women have adapted to these cloth pads. The grand dame of the village, Chelammal Patti, says that she has ensured that all adolescent girls and menstruating women use these cloth pads.

"We used cloth pads in our time and we are fine, right? Sanitary napkins cause more problems than they solve. The way they are disposed of makes it very unsanitary. I have bought these cloth pads for all my granddaughters," says Chelammal.

Gramalaya is now planning to replicate this successful model in other villages of the Pudukkottai district. They celebrated World Menstrual Hygiene Day on Thursday with a few villagers and lauded them for using cloth pads.

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