WaterAid helps restore dignity for a man living with a disability in Timor-Leste
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| Claudio was born with club feet, making walking and working very difficult. |
| Credit: WaterAid |
Life has been transformed for a disabled man from the small remote village of Kulau in Timor-Leste, after WaterAid helped build an accessible toilet for him.
Claudio, 35, is one of three disabled people living in the farming village in the Liquica district, where a lack of proper sanitation facilities meant that most inhabitants used to defecate in the surrounding fields or in pig pens.
This left the villagers vulnerable to preventable diseases, such as diarrhoea, as well as causing embarrassment for women and girls during menstruation.
Life without a toilet was particularly difficult for Claudio, who was born with club feet, which were never treated. Reliant on a stick to walk and work, he was unable to trek to isolated places to defecate in private. As a result, he had to defecate near his home, which he found humiliating.
WaterAid in Australia, in conjunction with local partner Hafoun Timor-Leste (HTL), has been working in the district since 2007 to help provide access to water, sanitation and hygiene. The team carried out participatory activities in Kulau to spur the villagers into action, and as a result, all households built their own toilets.
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| The squat toilet design could not suit Claudio, who had to balance on his arms, and so WaterAid's team helped design a solution. |
| Credit: WaterAid |
The squat design however was not hygienic for Claudio, as he had to use his hands to push himself up off the ground. The WaterAid and HTL team worked with Claudio and a local carpenter to build a simple wooden chair with a hole at the top, providing him with a hygienic and private toilet.
The design was then modified to suit the two other disabled villagers – an elderly man with arthritis and a 38-year old man who hurt his back in an accident.
Claudio said: “I am very happy with my toilet as now I don’t have to walk to the fields or try to climb fences to go to the toilet in the pig pen. Now it is easy for me to use the toilet on my own and I can stand up and sit down easily.”
At the recent Open Defecation Free ceremony attended by the villagers and government officials, Claudio showed his toilet to the Secretary of State for Infrastructure, who said he was impressed and pleased there were more accessible toilet designs available.
WaterAid in Timor-Leste is focusing on involving disabled people in its WASH activities. This example proved a good opportunity to raise awareness of living with disabilities in Timor-Leste, not only in the local community but also at a governmental level.
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