Community keeps bathing facility running

On Tuesday morning, Enny, a 45-year-old housewife, was washing her family's laundry together with neighbors in Petojo Utara, Central Jakarta.

Sitting on a small stool, Enny took a shirt from a bucket full of soapy clothes and scrubbed it against a washing board, all the while chatting and laughing.

It is a daily scene at the public bathing and washing facility (MCK) run by the local community on the banks of the Krukut River.

"Ever since the facility was built I've always washed here. My family takes their baths here, too. The water is clean and abundant. I have no complaints," the mother of two told The Jakarta Post.

Six months into its operation, the community facility, dubbed MCK++, is still serving hundreds of people every day and looks well maintained.

"Although problems do occur once in a while, in general the facility is running well," said Rahman Munajat, a local resident and one of two facility keepers.

The facility, built by residents and a group of non-governmental organizations in September last year, includes six adult bathrooms, one children's bathroom, a washing place, four toilets, a mother-and-baby healthcare center and two tanks of potable water.

The maintenance of the facility is financed by money collected from local residents and visitors who pay every time they use the facility.

Around 80 families in four community units near the facility each pay Rp 5,000 (some 50 U.S. cents) a month, while non-residents pay Rp 1,000 to use the facility.

"The money collected is used for maintenance, including to pay us, the keepers," said Rahman, who gets an average of Rp 500,000 each month.

The facility, built with Rp 360 million from USAID, also includes water and organic waste treatment tanks.

The organic waste produces biogas that is used to cook food for the healthcare center.

According to the facility project manager, Husnul Maad, residents had proven they could maintain the facility, which is a good sign for similar projects.

"The facility is expected to serve as a model for other community-managed facility programs," said Husnul, a program manager at non-governmental organization Mercy Corps.

Husnul said the main motivation in constructing the facility was the urban poor's lack of access to sanitation facilities.

"Poor people, especially children, have to pay a lot to access good sanitation facilities. One of the program's aims is to provide them with cheap and easy sanitation access," he said.

In the past, residents in the area used the riverbanks as toilets and the water to wash clothes and to bathe.

"Before the facility was built, we found a large percentage of E. coli in the water, but now it has decreased significantly," said Husnul.

Residents hope the facility will continue running for their benefit.

"We hope this will last a long time, unlike other facilities for the poor in town," said Rahman. (dre)

Post Date : 31 Maret 2008