104 year old woman discovers 'a brave new world' after first “toilet” experience
It is a new dawn for 104-year-old Kaka Noma and other residents of Gidan Sarakin Noma as the community witnesses the construction of toilets for the first time in their lives.
SOKOTO, 15 MARCH 2024 - In the open community of Gidan Sarakin Noma-Tsalibawa, Hajia Kaka Noma sits in front of her hut as she admires a newly constructed toilet beside the mud structure decked in a thatched roof.
"This singular thing has changed my life and given me dignity,"
The 104-year-old woman, who had her first experience of using toilets at 103, said she never imagined a day would come where toilets would spring up in Gidan Sarakin Noma, much less having one to herself. "They used to take me to a nearby bush to defecate in the open, and most times people passing by could see me there," Kaka said through an interpreter during a visit to the community on Thursday, March 14, 2024.
Kaka's toilet, along with several others constructed in the Gidan Sarakin Noma cluster in Tsalibawa, was constructed through the Improved Sustainability of Integrated WASH Services (IWASH) project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The program, which runs in select communities in Nigeria’s North-West states of Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara, ensured 1,170 communities were certified as open defense-free (ODF) as of October 2023. The scheme comes not just as aid to Kaka but has also helped restore her dignity in old age.
"I was always ashamed each time I was taken to the bush. I am now a very happy person, with this toilet near me, I can use it without anybody's assistance,"
Before the coming of the toilet, the proud mother of four, dreaded diarrhea and other related illnesses with an uncommon passion.
"Anytime I have stomach pain or diarrhea, they would help me to the bush repeatedly. I used to be exhausted because of the distance," she said.
While narrating her trauma endured under such difficult conditions, Kaka said the construction of the toilet beside her house finally reversed the degrading situation.
"Going to the toilet now comes with a different feeling. I never imagined something like this would happen here in my lifetime,"
Every other household in the Gidan Sarakin Noma community echoed similar stories of indignity. The village is tucked in the Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto and about 50 kilometers away from Illela, a popular border town that stares directly at the Niger Republic.
Sani Arewa, head of the settlement, said the toilets, which also come with handwashing facilities, have helped address the problem of regular hygiene related diseases. "First of all, I thank the American people (USAID), and I am very happy that they come to this community. The toilets have helped address problems of cholera among other fatal illnesses. Before now, people used to go to the bush to defecate, but now we are all comfortably using toilets in our homes" he said.
Juliana Kenneth Anam, WASH facilitator for the area, said the impact of the toilet scheme in the community has been massive. "Under the scheme, there is this support that USAID gave to communities for toilets to be built under a strategy we called sanitation vouchers. These toilets are provided for vulnerable and poor people who cannot build toilets on their own," she said.
To Anam, the scheme has not only seen a turnaround for Gidan Sarakin Noma locals, ensuring convenient and discreet structures to handle bodily waste but has further reinforced positive life-changing moments for Kaka and many like her. "This woman (Kaka) has been able to witness and even own a toilet in her house, and she is very happy. According to her, before now she was defecating in the bush, and at a time she could not go on her own, and people were supporting her, and sometimes she would defecate on a nylon and they would throw it in the bushes" she said.
With toilets constructed under the intervention scheme, in every household in Gidan Sarakin Noma, the community has also secured Open Defecation Free (ODF) status. "USAID supported them to reach the status, and WASH-Com (the committee) has continued to monitor and strengthen households to ensure that no one misuses the toilets," Anam said.
As communities like Gidan Sarakin Noma benefit from such targeted USAID campaigns, under the new ODF status, Kaka and other residents can finally breathe easy, each time Mother Nature calls.
