Toilets Improve Health and Safety in Sri Lanka

I am Sanjeewa. I am married. I was working in the past as a laborer but now I can’t find work because I am blind in one eye. My wife tries untiringly to find work in the nearby cultivations but that too is an off-and-on basis. So, most days we do not have a wage.

Polonnaruwa is a dry zone but when it does rain, we are affected by floods. We do not have clean drinking water and most days do not have a meal. Over the years, we and some other families surrounding our hut have been going into the deep forest to relieve ourselves. This is very difficult as we have to walk a few miles and the danger of wild elephant attacks also are there. Of late, if I needed to go the toilet in the night walking into the forest was dangerous due to serpents and other wild creatures especially because I can see only with one eye and that too not so well. So we just made a make-shift space in the forest area but closer to our home for this purpose.

When we heard that Serve To LEAD was planning to construct toilets as a community effort to help families like us, we begged for help in this regard and now that the construction is complete, it is a great blessing not only for my wife and I, but for another 3-4 families who could make use of this facility when needed. I consider this a great service and appreciate it very much especially because of my handicap.