Outdoor Toilets: A Safe Place to Go

Anxiety nagged at Pamalla’s mind. As usual, she had woken up, taken her daughter Aalia to the field to use the bathroom, fixed breakfast for her four children and left for work. But each day, as she labored in the fields, she couldn’t stop wondering if her 14-year-old daughter would be OK.

While these worries spun through her mother’s mind, Aalia had concerns of her own. What if she had to go to the bathroom by herself?

One day Aalia couldn’t hold it all day, and their fears were realized.

Found Lying on the Ground

Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Raanan looked down from the rooftop terrace of his house and beheld a startling sight: A prone figure lay beside the path. Alarmed, he called out to his wife, Abony.

Abony rushed to help the unconscious person and discovered a familiar face; young Aalia attended their church. Abony cared for the girl as she woke up and then asked her what had happened.

“I came [to go to the bathroom] and got [a seizure] and fell down in this position,” the girl explained.

Every day, Aalia had to walk some distance to relieve herself in a field because her family were some 2 billion people without access to a toilet, latrine or other basic sanitation facility in their home. Every day, she risked having seizures along the road. That day, risk had become reality.

Abony explained the situation to her husband, and he visited Aalia’s home to find out more about the family’s circumstances.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY ON GFA.ORG

Through giving toward outdoor toilets you can help stop the spread of disease and offer dignity to people living in poverty by providing proper sanitation with Christlike compassion.