300 households to replace pit latrines with toilets with proper sewage systems.
The project persuades homeowners and homeowners to build new toilets or renovate their existing ones, giving them subsidies. This project includes replacing pit latrines with modern toilets and connecting them to a suitable sewage system.
Mwanaisha Nuru, a landlady in Soweto district in Magongo, Changamwe sub-county, Mombasa, has had to deal with frequent disease outbreaks in her home due to poor sanitary conditions.
She and their tenants used pit latrines, but previously they were often full, forcing them to rely on the expensive services of sanitation facilities.
Abdirahim Farah, Managing Director of Rehabilitation Mowasco, inspects the renovated toilets at Mwanaisha Nuru in Soweto on January 23, 2024
There were always flies,” Nuru said.
But when she heard about the Safisan Toilet Program, she jumped at the opportunity.
Safisan Toilets is a program of the Water Sector Trust Fund (WSTF) in partnership with Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company (Mowasco) and the Mombasa District Government to improve sanitation in low-income urban areas.
The project will persuade homeowners and landlords to build new toilets or renovate existing toilets, with grants of Sh20,000 for new toilets and Sh15,000 for renovated toilets. Thing.
This includes replacing pit latrines with modern toilets and connecting them to a suitable sewage system.
According to Abdirahim Farah, Mowasco’s managing director, this will improve basic sanitation in low-income areas.
“We want to reduce contamination between sewers and wells, improve sanitation around their living environments, and reduce cases of waterborne diseases in our neighborhoods,” Farrar said. Ta.
The project, which is in its second phase, aims to rehabilitate 300 household toilets in Soweto and other low-income areas of Mombasa.
The first phase was carried out in Muskitinor area of Changamwe city in 2020, where 245 household toilets were also constructed or renovated.
The second phase of the
project will begin in September 2023 and is expected to be completed within the next two months.
Nuru is one of 111 homeowners who have already benefited from the project.
“At least 15 people are using the toilet and there is no smell anymore, there are no flies and everyone washes their hands with soap after using the toilet,” Nuru said.
She encouraged other residents to adopt the new system.
“When I used the old pit toilet, my stomach would sometimes get watery. But since I switched to Safisan, I no longer have diarrhea,” Nuru said.
Mr Farah said this was part of a broader plan by Mowasco to improve the sanitary conditions in Mombasa.
On January 23, 2024, Mwanaish Nuru received a check for Sh30,000 after disinfecting two toilets in Soweto, Magongo, Mombasa County.
“His 70% of Mombasa is considered a low-income area. This means our goals are bigger and we are looking to take a multi-pronged approach to improving sanitation,” Farah said. said.
He said Mowasco is also renovating the Kipebu West Water Treatment Plant in addition to renovating about eight kilometers of sewage pipelines around the western part of the mainland, including Changamwe and Jombusab districts.
The Managing Director said Mowasco is gradually trying to solve Mombasa’s water and sanitation problems.
“Once Phase 2 is complete, we hope that funders will provide further funding to continue the project,” Farrar said.
He said Mowasco was also improving Mombasa’s stormwater drainage channels as part of another World Bank project.
“We have people who illegally connected their sewer lines to the stormwater system. We’re trying to find a way to resolve this as well,” Farrar said.
He said that anyone who is willing can apply to renovate the pit latrines, and so far about 500 applications have been received.
