A Cleaner Community: Méline's Hygiene Journey

My name is Méline. I’m 55 years old, married, with children, and I live in the village of Behazomanga. For years, our community has struggled with poor hygiene and open defecation. Before Medair’s intervention, I must admit that I wasn't very rigorous about personal hygiene either.

‍A radical change

Everything changed the day Medair’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) began their awareness campaign. The WSP committee, trained by Medair, taught us simple, impactful hygiene practices that changed my life. Now, I regularly clean my yard and use clean water to do the dishes. These small changes have transformed our daily lives, creating a cleaner, safer home environment. As a bread seller, I’ve also applied these practices to my business. I now provide water for my customers to wash their hands before buying and eating bread, ensuring better hygiene and higher-quality products.

Economic and health benefits

The benefits of these changes are not only visible but also tangible. I no longer need to spend money on doctor visits for diarrhea, and instead use the savings to feed my grandchildren. Additionally, the introduction of a fine of 5000 Ar for open defecation has helped our community adopt the use of latrines, significantly improving cleanliness.

A transformed community

Today, our village is noticeably cleaner, and we have all become aware of the importance of maintaining these new hygiene practices. I’m deeply grateful to Medair and all the partners for their support. Their training has not only improved our health but has also uplifted our quality of life.

Medair services in the South of Madagascar are funded by UNICEF and private donors.

This content was produced with resources gathered by Medair field and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.  

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