Sanitation Parks open in Tailevu

12th November, 2010.

Close to 1500 people in the provinces of Ra, Tailevu and Naitasiri are expected to benefit from the setting up of Sanitation Parks.

A sanitation park is a place where a range of technologies are available to provide safe hygiene practices for a community and can include wells, a water seal toilet, septic tanks, or innovated waterless compost toilets.

This project funded by the Australian Government is worth about F$3m engineered over 14 months across four countries namely, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and PNG. Under the project Live and Learn received around F$700,000 to work in six communities across Fiji.

Opening the three parks in Veinuqa Village, Tailevu, Australia’s First Secretary for Development Cooperation in Fiji, Jacqueline Clark, said:“This project in partnership with Live and Learn, has seen women here take the lead role. In establishing better hygiene practices in their communities and homes, they have learnt how to look after a compost and pit toilet and have also learnt about safeguarding rural communities from water borne diseases”.

With sanitation parks being set up in Veinuqa, Naganivatu and Nakalawaca villages, it’s expected health and hygiene practices will improve significantly.

And with some parts of the country recently affected by prolonged dry weather and water shortages, the waterless compost toilets are a timely initiative.

“It is our hope that this project will benefit all the residents of these 3 villages by reducing the risk of disease outbreaks, like typhoid, and provide clean water for drinking, cooking and washing. With no need for water for toilets, this would then reduce the risk of contamination of water supply sources, said Ms. Clark.

In September, Malake island in the province of Ra was the first village to have a sanitation park set up benefitting its 800 residents.

The Australian Government has supported similar projects across Fiji in the past. Between 2007 and 2009 Australia provided F$1.5m to SOPAC, the World Health Organisation and Live and Learn to develop a drinking water safety plan for four countries including Fiji. Under that project Live and Learn were responsible for raising awareness in rural communities about how to keep drinking water clean and reduce the risk of disease outbreak.
*ENDS*