WASH Impacts in RMG Worker Communities
As working parents, my husband and I are always worried about our children’s health. They always felt agitated and sick. It was very difficult for me as a working mother and I could not concentrate on my work. Now, we no longer worry about washing hands. My kids are disease-free just by following good hygiene with clean water.
Armina Khatun is a garment worker in Apex Textile and has been working as a junior officer for the past eight years. She lives in the RMG worker community close to the factory for the last seven years with her husband, son, and daughter. Armina did not have easy access to water for handwashing for herself and her children before. As a result, hygiene practices, such as handwashing with soap, were not widespread or practiced in the community. This translated to her kids suffering from worms and stomach aches frequently - a disease burden that affected Amrina and her family's quality of life. She had to go to the doctor every month. This is a common reality for RMG worker communities where absence of or limited access to clean water, decent sanitation, and effective hygiene practices are present.
WaterAid Bangladesh and Sajida Foundation, with support from Lindex, installed several WASH blocks in the community that enabled convenient access to clean water along with access to robust sanitation infrastructures. Armina can now easily clean her hands with soap and water in the handwashing station. Even young children can wash their hands without anyone’s assistance just by following photo instructions displayed on the handwashing station. The community now has enough toilets and handwashing stations for women and men with an unlimited supply of water, inclusive of clean drinking water. The children are free from worms and associated diseases for the past three months - helping Armina to cut down on the cost of healthcare as she did not visit any doctor or buy medicines. The WASH blocks helped Armina and parents like her in the community to go to work without any tension or hesitation.
In year one, the project installed two and renovated 18 safe drinking water facilities in the RMG workers' dwelling places at the community level. A total of 20 handwashing stations were installed as well. These facilities reached 1,248 people (female: 526, male: 722) with access to safe drinking water facilities. Water quality of these facilities were ensured following WaterAid Bangladesh's water quality policy 2020 (as per the policy, water quality needs to test and safe in 8 parameters, i.e., Faecal Coliforms, pH, Chloride, Turbidity, Nitrate, Manganese, Arsenic and Iron). The project also ensured messages of water safety plan through discussion with community people and through visual demonstration to ensure that people will use this water safely.
I was about to move out with my family from the community because of the dirty toilet and not having clean drinking water. But after the WASH interventions, I can use a proper bathroom and access clean drinking water inside the community. People no longer line up outside my house to use my bathroom.
Like Armina, Shahanuri Aktar is a mother of two who came from Rangpur with her husband to look for work - an example of voluntary migration where textile or factory work is a preferred option for many. When she came to the city, both she and her husband were jobless. Luckily, both of them were employed in the same place. Everything was going well except for one thing. She did not have access to clean drinking water while the existing toilets were broken and very unclean. One community toilet was just outside her house which often led to high traffic outside. Because of the proximity of the toilet, sometimes, excreta would overflow and get mixed with the water supply they had.
This was particularly problematic during the rainy season when the excreta flows throughout the community. Shahanuri couldn't go outside and cook during these seasons. Unwillingly, she had to clean the waste all night - losing her appetite in the process. Diarrhoeal diseases and dysentery were common in the community as a result of the unclean environment. Shahanuri and her family had to tolerate this situation for years. On the verge of deciding to move out, Shahanuri experienced the establishment of a new toilet - bathrooms for men and women, separate clean drinking water facility and handwashing station. This was akin to a miracle for her and her family. The health and wellbeing of the community was fundamentally changed afterwards and now Shahanuri does not have to worry about fresh drinking water or cleaning the toilet waste anymore.
The project renovated and/or constructed 20 improved sanitation facilities in RMG workers' dwelling places at the community level. These facilities enabled the community to access improved toilet and bathing facilities, segregated for females and males. These facilities also ensured facilities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in at least one of the female chambers in each community, enabling female and adolescent girls to manage their menstruation comfortably and safely. Thus, these facilities have provided them with privacy and dignity. In addition to improving the facilities, this project also increased the number of toilet chambers where possible. It allowed the workers to have more free time for household chores, avoid the rush, and the formation of traffic during peak times like in the morning, when toilets are used frequently - indirectly helping neighbours incubate good relationships and avoid potential conflicts.
The improved WASH situation has resulted in several positive impacts on the factory workers. Now they face less rush in WASH facilities and can arrive at the workplace on time, allowing them to avoid losing the attendance bonus due to delay or sickness This helps to increase the production, income, and well-being of both the workers and the RMG factories.
