We undertook a school project in partnership with a donor organisation from 2014 to 2017. In this time, we renovated 85 school toilets. We also piloted a sanitation club called Club I’m possible, whereby a school committee took ownership of the toilet facility and sanitation at the school.
We also built a completely new toilet complex, using the composter technology of Sulabh International, at Cliffdale Primary School in KwaZulu-Natal. The complex services 343 learners and 12 teachers.
The toilet facility is still well-maintained and clean, and the composters are working well. To date, there have been no plumbing problems. The toilet facility is also connected to two 10,000 litre Jojo tanks to provide backup to the water supply.
To mark the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, SISASSS-SA participated in the renovation and conversion of the toilet facilities at the Phoenix Settlement. This is the first time that the composter system has been used at a tourist hub in South Africa. The project was completed in October 2019.
SISASSS-SA was approached to assist a crèche in Esibhonjeni in KwaZulu-Natal. The school accommodates about 22 children from the community, but was built without any toilet facilities. This meant they were unable to apply for government assistance, as without sanitation facilities, they do not fit the criteria for registration. The composters proved to be the best solution in this deep rural setting with no access to running water or electricity. Soil tests revealed the ground to be extremely rocky, and for the composters to function efficiently, the surrounding soil had to be crushed, and the land levelled to avoid excess water accumulation that could potentially crack the concrete slabs covering the composters. The project was completed in February 2020.
‘You will never solve poverty without solving health and sanitation.’ —Nivesh Raj
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