No one wants to live without a good toilet. That’s especially true for older people, who benefit from an improved toilet that has handrails and a seat. As part of the DFAT-funded WASH-SUP project, iDE trains local health workers from the Centre for Preventive Medicine (CPM) to promote improved latrines and help make sanitation more accessible for those with mobility challenges or disabilities.

Tran Thi Chau, age 70, and her mother, age 95, live by themselves in the village of Trung Thanh, Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province, but she worried about mother. They owned a toilet, but it was a dry pit latrine built in the usual manner, up on stilts, which required the user to climb stairs. Mrs. Chau’s mother had already fallen once elsewhere, and Mrs. Chau was afraid that her mother might fall again climbing the stairs to the toilet. She also suspected that her mother was having more trouble squatting, as it was evident that she had more difficulty with her knees and bending was increasingly difficult for her.

Chau had saved money for years to construct a new courtyard and kitchen, then she learned about improved latrines and accessibility options like handrails at CPM meetings. The combination of the seated commode and optional handrails convinced her that it was time to invest in a new latrine as well. And she was happy to learn that the total cost, including the septic latrine, was only going to be 120 million dong (approximately USD$5,000).

When Mrs. Chau’s daughter, who owns a pharmacy in another village, heard what her mother planned to do, she gave Mrs. Chau the money to cover the cost of the latrine, which allowed Mrs. Chau to begin construction immediately.

Mrs. Chau, her mother, and her daughter are very happy with the improvement. The new latrine is hygienic, safer, and easier to use.