I visited a village in rural Tiruchirappalli, some fifty kilometers away from the city, in the hope of meeting Nandhini, the leader of one of the many Joint Liability Groups from this area. Since she was unavailable, Kala, a member of the very same JLG, was kind enough to meet me. Kala, 33, lives with her husband and two children. Her in-laws live a few houses away. She works at a coir-making company, while her husband makes mats. She took a loan from GUARDIAN, Milaap's partner, to finish the construction of a toilet for her family and her in-laws. She paid her first installment last month. The toilet has been built and put to use. Before they started using the toilet, they'd go to the open fields, some half a kilometer away to relieve themselves. This made life difficult for them as it is unhygienic and time-consuming. It is also unsafe for women of the house to endure the distance at night. She also said that it was embarrassing when visitors would come as they'd have to be accompanied to the fields. Now that they have a well functioning sanitation facility, life has been made much simpler for Kala and her family. Â She has made sanitation a habit for them.
Kala
