Saradha is encouraging other women to build toilets

I went to Rakkampatty, a village some 50 kilometers from tiruchirappalli, in the hope of meeting Muthulakshmi who leads a Joint Liability Group in this area, consisting of four other women, formed for the purpose of availing a loan from GUARDIAN, Milaap's partner, for constructing toilets on their homes. Since she was unavailable, I met Saradha, one of the members. Saradha is a daily-wage laborer. Her husband works in a hotel in Salem, a city 300 kilometers away. They have a monthly income of Rs.10,000, on average. She has two children, both of whom attend the local Government school. Saradha has finished the process of building a toilet in her house. It is fully functional now. She said she is relieved that she took this step of taking the loan. It was getting difficult to go to the closest field to relieve themselves, now that her children are much older and her husband is away on most days. Having access to a private toilet is the best investment she has ever made, she said. She is now encouraging other women in her locality to build toilets in their homes so they too can discover the perks of such privacy.