Ringgo protested his parents’ habit of open defecation around the house. It motivated them to have a latrine.
Ringgo reminisces about the times two years ago. Back then, he and his family couldn’t access a toilet, so they had to defecate openly in the forest.
“It was not good. Sometimes there were snakes or seen by people around,” said Ringgo.
In 2022, Ringgo joined a triggering activity in school. This triggering session was organized by teachers as a follow-up to training conducted by Save the Children and Gapemasda with support from Cargill.
Erika, one of the teachers at Ringgo school, admitted that before the triggering, there were still many children defecating and urinating among the oil palm plantations. They do this while playing in the field or around the garden. However, in general, children already have toilets in their respective homes.
“So I was surprised, only Ringgo didn’t have a toilet in his house,” recalled Erika.
With the support of the program team, Erika and several other teachers carried out triggering at school. Triggering is carried out by explaining the five pillars of Community-Led Total Sanitation: stop open defecation, wash your hands with soap, manage household drinking and food water, manage household waste, and manage household liquid waste. The entire triggering process uses information, education, and communication media provided by the program team.
After this, he expressed his desire to have a family toilet to his parents. His parents, Ipon and Edy, were also in agreement with this idea.
Ipon has been searching for a solution to her problem of having to defecate in the forest. She hopes to have a latrine built nearby to avoid having to go so far. There is also the risk of encountering snakes in the forest. This has been a challenge for her family, as Ringgo has expressed his frustration with the smell of feces around the house. He has even prohibited his parents from defecating in the open.
Ipon understands and agrees with Ringgo’s concerns, stating, “It’s smelly and difficult without a toilet.”
Edy, who is also a neighborhood leader, has brought to the attention of the village government the need for a latrine in his family’s home. However, he acknowledges that this request may not be immediately fulfilled as the construction of latrines in their village is carried out in stages.
But finally in 2023, the village government appointed a local construction contractor to build a communal latrine near his house using funds from the village budget.
Now Edy, Ipon, Ringgo, and extended family members can access the communal toilet or latrine. The facility is shared with four other neighboring households. Ipon mentioned that they clean it in turns.
Ringgo emphasized the importance of having a toilet in one’s home and advised other young people on the matter. “Don’t defecate openly to prevent you from spreading disease.”