Tearfund launches affordable, hygiene-oriented toilet seats in Juba County/photo credit Tearfund

The Christian charity, Tearfund has introduced affordable easy-to-use toilet seats to improve hygiene and sanitation among communities in Juba county.

The piloting program was launched at the Gurei market in Juba county on Saturday.

Known as the SaTo, is a simple pour-flush toilet with an airtight seal that maintains smell-free latrines while preventing flies and other insects from getting out of the pit latrines.

The word SaTo is coined from Safe Toilet, an innovation designed for no or low-income households to maintain good sanitation in their homes and neighborhoods.

According to Rama Anthony, the Country Director for Tearfund South Sudan, the pans do help in reducing disease transmission by flying insects and eliminates odors from open pit latrines.

“SaTo products are ideal for households, schools, and community facilities as they are affordable, safe, and easy to maintain,

“SaTo pans are plastic toilet sitters that are affordable for low-income households, safe for children to use, and suitable for elderly people or people with disability and other mobility challenges,” said Anthony.

Speaking at the launch – Lydia Tabu -The project officer for Tearfund’s Market-Based Sanitation says the pans come in various types and sizes that are easily installed on concrete, mud, and wood slabs using basic masonry skills.

To ensure easy access and sustainability, Tearfund is partnering with local retailers in Juba to ensure the pans’ availability across the city.

Some of the beneficiaries have testified to the usefulness of the toilet seats they say have improved their health situation

“I’m very happy with this organization. Before the project, we were in a very terrible situation because our latrine was very smelly,” said Margaret Gale, a resident of the area.

The middle-aged woman is suffering from a knee ailment, but the introduction of the toilet seats has eased her life.

“I could not squat or bent because of my knees problem, but when the organization came up with this seat, I could squat with ease, And if I sit, it’s like I have sat on a chair.”

Tearfund also aided the construction of six toilets with the pan at  Kafuki Nursery and Primary Schools in the Gurei area.

The project has addressed challenges the school was facing, children used to fear going to the toilet

“Our children who are too young were unable to go to the toilets because when looked inside, they feared to help themselves, but now they do not because of the toilet seats’, said Benedicson Domirado, the head teacher.

“Secondly, the toilets have become so clean that you hardly see even a single fly and there is no smell,” he testified.

The introduction of the SaTo pans, is part of Tearfund’s market-based sanitation project being piloted in Juba County and the organization is now calling on households in Juba to embrace the toilet seats and install one.