Concerned by the lack of adequate sanitation services in Alexandra, Johannesburg, Return2Love and Rebosis Property Fund have come to the rescue. The NGO’s recently revealed ten flushable toilets, targeted to help 220 people.
Nozizela Rubu has been living on the narrow street for years and raised her five children in what she describes as unbearable conditions. “Children here would play with the urine that would be on the ground. This is my first time in 25 years that I have seen even a little bit of change,” she said.
Another community member said he is the second generation that is living in the area and he is hopeful that his children will live a better life than him. “These toilets were making our children unwell, so I hope that they will have a better future than us. Just imagine every Monday the waste would be collected, it was terrible,” said Bongo Zondo.
Nkateko Khumalo who has lived in Alex her whole life said she hopes the new toilets will help her community. “We have to use a bucket and it’s not hygienic. With the coronavirus, it was quite difficult for us because as you can see there are so many families who had to share the bucket toilets. As women, we faced more issues like getting infections,” she said.
Ward councillor Adolph Marema said in his section of Alexandra the community had been dependent on eight bucket toilets. “The situation in this area has been very bad. You can imagine the conditions, especially during the pandemic. These toilets were worse than jail. We are really grateful for this donation” concluded Marema.
