Children campaign to attain goal
Like Rabiul, other children of the villages under ward number-4 of Digpaith union in Jamalpur sadar upazila do the same to prevent others from discharging excrement on open spaces.
Besides whistling, the children also work in a group to motivate local people in using sanitary latrines.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. They stage skits on the courtyard of different homesteads to deliver message on installing sanitary latrines.
The group also brings out processions chanting rhythmic slogans to build awareness among the villagers.
During a visit to the ward comprising Matarpara, Tararvita and Chandpur villages recently, the inhabitants said they are now more conscious about their health and help poor households to install sanitary latrines by collecting subscription from the affluent households.
They even persuaded other households to install it saying that discharging excrement on open space will not only hurt him alone, it will also hurt all of them.
There are 1069 households in the ward and the villagers have installed some 18 public sanitary latrines at different bazars, mosques and village roads besides installing latrines on their homesteads.
Local Ward Member Mojibur Rahman told the journalists, even two months back it was difficult to walk through the village without pressing a handkerchief on the nose due to smell of human excrement, but now anyone can walk without being disturbed by any stink.
He said installation of sanitary latrines started when leaders of Dishari (Decentralised Total Sanitation Project) came here and told us about the importance of using sanitary latrines.
Later they organised a six-day training programme in Bogra where a good number of union parishad chairmen and members took part, he added.
" After having the training, we started working together forming different committees to create awareness about the importance of sanitary latrines among the villagers," said Mojibur.
The committee led by the ward member included imams, teachers and distinguished persons of the village to raise awareness and install latrines.
Mojibur hoped to achieve 100 percent latrine coverage in his ward by June this year.
"Then we will go for safe drinking water programme and total sanitation programme," he added.
Sufia, Hawa and Monwara, housewives of the village, said they are now fully conscious about using hygienic latrines and know how to install and maintain them.
A hygienic latrine can be installed at a cost of only Tk 69 of which Tk 17 goes for buying a pan, Tk 13 goes for band pipe and Tk 39 for delivery pipe.
It needs a storage tank of eight feet deep and four feet wide to be filled up in five years.
Rezaul Quaiyum, training officer of Dishari, said his organisation works for raising awareness among the people through training programme and give technical and maintenance support whenever needed to install sanitary latrines.
He said Dishari has taken Digpaith as a model union under a sanitation programme now being implemented at 92 unions of nine upazilas in seven districts across the country.
Jamalpur Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Yusuf Ali Mollah hoped that his upazila would be brought under 100 percent sanitary latrine coverage by the end of this year.
Dishari, a three-year project jointly developed by Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Plan Bangladesh, Water Aid Bangladesh and Water and Sanitation Programme of World Bank to achieving sustainable total sanitation in the country, is to end in June 2007.