Summer went by fast, and school is now open. In Goyave, a community far from Duchity, Youthaiti has partnered with St. Margaret Mary church in Neenah, Wisconsin to build a new toilet at the grade school. Here is their glowing report of the work done by our technician/educator, Jean Emy “Manlove” Elysee:
The Inauguration of the Dry Toilet at Our Lady of Lourdes in Goyave was performed on Monday, 9/3/18, in conjunction with the students first day of school. Father Pol indicated that this was a great day to perform the inauguration as many parents were there for the first day of school. There were also a number of the community members there specifically for the Dry Toilet inauguration.
The presentation was made by Manlove, the technician from Youthaiti responsible for construction of the toilet, training the workers on the construction techniques and instructing individuals to care for and maintain the toilet.
As the people were gathering around the toilet, you can tell that the children are curious and Fr Pol must tell the children to come down and informs them that the Toilet belongs to them.
Manlove expressed his thanks to the workers and volunteers who helped construct the toilet and provided food and water. Manlove made at least a half-dozen trips from his home in Duchity, about as far as you can get from Goyave and still be in Haiti (it is easily an 8 hour one-way trip.)
Manlove explained why it is called a “Dry” toilet because the urine is separate from the solids as the human waste is collected. When a person uses the toilet properly, the urine flows one direction and the solid waste goes in another so that they can be collected and treated separately. (The urine is later mixed with water in order to be able to be used in gardens as a healthy fertilizer. The solids require more work as dry materials such as ash and sawdust is added to the solids to encourage composting. This also makes very rich fertilizer.)
Manlove informed the people of the benefits of a Dry Toilet design as it practically eliminates the ability of human waste to negatively affect their environment and even has a positive impact from the generation of fertilizer. A Dry Toilet does not allow the leakage of waste into the ground and the water supply. Manlove said that this toilet is the first step for the community and that hopefully in time there will be more as more people use environmentally safe waste management alternatives.
With the enthusiasm that resonates from his teaching background, Manlove explains the risks involved when the water supply and environment is contaminate by human waste. Diseases such as typhoid, cholera, worms and other dysentery conditions are directly related to waste contamination in the water supply. He points out that open defecation (which is the most common method of disposing human waste in the area) has double the contaminating affects as other human waste collection systems. In addition to open defecation being washed into the water systems during the rainy season, the dry season promotes turning solid waste into dust, which gets blown around into the environment and attaches itself to just about anything that comes into human contact (plants, animals, food, water, human skin, air that is breathed, etc).
Throughout his presentation, Manlove encouraged the community to do other things that will help the community rise up from contaminating their environment. He explained other alternatives that the community can do but mostly encouraged them to stay away from open defecation. While building a structure similar to the one for the school is not practical for individual families, there are other alternatives, such as having their own family toilets. Smaller pits, can be used to contain the waste, while reducing the impact on the environment. The family toilets should be kept shallow and away from water sources such as streams, rivers and lakes.
The final instruction from Manlove’s presentation is the importance of hygiene and to teach children at a young age on the proper methods of waste management and hygiene. Emphasis is placed on education of the children so that as they move into society, they will understand and promote the proper waste management and hygiene.
We saw the passion of Manlove, Youthaiti and Fr. Pol to help Haitians improve their conditions. We believe that this construction and use of the Dry Toilet is an important 1st step in human waste management in Goyave, which will hopefully promote and encourage further steps towards a clean and safe environment for all in the community.
Thank you Manlove for your dedication and passion about sanitation and hygiene not just in Duchity, but throughout Haiti!
