No more flying toilets. 

Imagine it:  You are sick with diarrhea from the bacteria-filled water you drank because you had no other option.  Your neighbors’ homes are packed so closely next to yours with no sewage or drainage system, so you relieve yourself in a plastic bag and then throw it up over the sea of homes where your 800,000 neighbors live in the Kibera slums.  No fun for the home or person in its path.

This is a flying toilet.

I visited Kibera, the world’s largest slum, where flying toilets are just one of the realities of no access to water or sanitation facilities.  The spread of waterborne diseases is perhaps one of the most dangerous parts of living in the slums, and as we walked through, children were playing amongst the trash, flies and human waste. 

Another important reality:  it is expensive to be poor.  As a limited resource, water is sold at a high price to the people of Kibera from independent sources.

The majority of the world’s population lives like this.  I heard a TED Conference talk once about how these are the cities of the future- we had better start learning how they operate.    

I was in Kibera to see an amazing social enterprise solution to the lack of clean water and toilet/ shower facilities with David Kuria of Practical Action.  David has worked to build several units in Kibera which give people access to clean, safe, toilets, showers and water taps.  People in the community pay a small fee for use (some monthly for consistent access, some pay per use) which ultimately allows the facility to completely cover its costs and be sustainable.  A manager collects the money and cleans the units after every use, so they are well maintained.  After five years, Practical Action gives ownership of the facility over to the community committee in charge of its governance from then on.  Any profits are used as the committee decides is best for their community.

Unlike any building around it, the units were built with concrete and long lasting materials.  Right on the small site, there is a digester to process the human waste and use the byproduct of methane to burn and power the heating of hot water for some of the showers.  During our visit, several people came to use the shower and toilets. 

These facilities have not had to be upgraded in the five years of operation.  The community has maintained them so well; I was in shock.  No where in the U.S. would we see such an example of responsible care of a public resource. 

The message here is this:  Yes, these people are poor.  It doesn’t mean they don’t deserve (or want) the dignity of being a CONSUMER and the dignity of having access to toilets and showers.

Nairobi is the most dangerous city in the world at the moment, and yet people were very welcoming to us during our visit to the Kibera slums.  There was a sense of community and togetherness among the residents that deeply touched me.  Those of us who do not live there have a lot to learn from Kibera residents about community and mutualism.

 
   
Pictures:  David Kuria (Practical Action & Ikotoilet), Keely Stevenson (Acumen Fund), Wendy Mukuru (Acumen Fund) inside and outside of the toilet/shower/water tap facilities in the Kibera Slums, Nairobi.