Report Back: Desford Tea Estate, Sri Lanka
1/11/2008
In March 2007 ChildFund New Zealand launched an appeal to help children and families living in the Desford Tea Estate in Nuwara Eliya in the highlands of central Sri Lanka.
We discovered young women and children facing disease due to unclean water and at risk from rape and violence just because they did not have access to toilets. Forced to wait until night fall, young girls and women were going to the toilet in streams or in plastic bags which they then disposed of. An incredibly humiliating situation, which left these young girls and women vulnerable to abusive behaviour from passing people and rape.
ChildFund put together a complete protection plan working with the community and the Tea Estate Management, summed up as the ‘3 Ts Plan’ - Toilets, Taps and Training! This plan included the installation of toilets with a 30-year lifetime, water supply systems for a reliable supply of safe water, plus the teaching of families about health and good hygiene.
What's been achieved already
- 75 toilets built with weather-proof concrete, reinforced roofs, cement floors and doors with locks.
- 77 water points constructed giving access to clean water.
- 5 Water Storage Tanks constructed.
- Water supply facilities giving access to clean water installed in the estate school, pre-school and Hindu temple.
- A waterborne disease and toilet maintenance training and awareness programme implemented in the community with the help of seven volunteer groups in the estate.
- A water committee and training programme on maintenance of the water supply system formed with local community members.
- A mothers’ group established, consisting of thirty mothers who participate in weekly discussions on issues of maternal health, sanitation and nutrition.
NEXT STEPS
Your help has already made a real difference to the lives of families living in the Desford Tea Estate. We continue to work hard for the children and families in Desford and our next steps include:
- Construction of another 20 toilets
- Construction of another 2 Water Storage Tanks
- Distribution of personal hygiene posters for each family living in the estate
- Training and awareness programmes on waterborne disease and the maintenance of toilet and water supply systems will continue within the community.
Michael Vujnovich, ChildFund New Zealand Programmes Manager visited the Desford Tea Estate in June 2006
“Immediately I could see that the community needed to make some urgent changes. Particularly the lack of access to toilets meant that young girls and women suffered a threatening and undignified situation on a daily basis. It was heart breaking to learn of this. However, I discovered a community motivated to improve their living conditions. I had already met and discussed the issues they faced – amongst many, they recognised that what the young girls and women of the estate were suffering was unacceptable and that they urgently needed to improve access to a clean and reliable water supply.
"Once the project started, it was amazing how the community came together. Trenches for the water supply system were dug, young girls and women of the community decided the best possible locations of the new toilets to ensure their safety and dignity, and the local children voted on the colour of the paint for the toilets and water points (light blue by the way!)."
