Improving Access: Sanitation and Stoves for Kibera Police Officers
TOP III biocenter, left, and cooking room, right |
TOP III biocenter interior |
The officers, whose numbers are now
around 130, are able to use Umande’s TOP III biocenter free of charge.
Previously, these officers had to use their own money every week to have their
latrines cleaned out, which was quite costly and a burden for them. Now, says
Mbinda, they don’t have to worry about spending that money on sanitation in
their workplace and can instead use it in their personal lives and for their
homes and families. Additionally, the TOP III biocenter is significantly
cleaner and more sanitary than the pit latrines they currently used, which has
improved upon the officers’ health and well-being. Furthermore, Commandant
Mbinda notes that overall sanitation in the area has improved thanks to the TOP
III biocenter—she has seen fewer cases of sicknesses like diarrhea, especially
among children.
Cooking room interior |
The officers are also able to use
the biocenter’s biogas stoves, again with no personal cost. They mainly use the
stoves for cooking and for boiling water while they are at work. Mbinda hopes
in the future that the officers will be able to use bottled biogas, so that
they may cook with it in their private homes in addition to at the community
cookers. Mbinda expressed gratitude and satisfaction with her and her officers’
partnership with Umande, calling it “perfect.” She described the improvements
to the officers’ access to sanitary bathrooms as “tremendous,” and hopes in the
future to see Umande partner with other groups in Kibera with similar needs.
Written by Rachel Powers
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