Case Story - Monica Patrick
Monica Patrick of village Headman Soka, Traditional Authority Dambe in Neno District is a 44 years old woman divorced woman with five children.
She had never had a pit latrine but after attending a village meeting which was conducted by DAPP field officers under the DAPP Child Aid project which aims at complementing the government of Malawi’s efforts through community empowerment in making decisions and taking actions to improve the wellbeing and upbringing of children which helps to create and ensure a safe and conducive environment for children, she learnt a lot and made a personal decision to construct her own pit latrine in her house hold.
In the meeting I learnt that if I continue using my neighbors' latrine it will bring shame to my family. “In addition to that, I learnt that having no pit latrine in my household would attract diseases like cholera and diarrhea”. Because of this she decided to dig the pit by herself.
She molded the bricks and started to construct the housing with assistance from one of her children. She managed to make the roof and her children thatched it with grass. Then installed the toilet drop hole cover and Tippy tap with soap.
“Since then my household is free from diseases caused by poor hygiene and sanitation. I am now glad that my village is now open defecation free thanks to DAPP” said Monica.
