This Is How An American Woman Is Challenging Open Defecation In Rural India

Marta is volunteering with the Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana and is combating the problem of open defecation by giving villagers in North India access to what should be a basic right - a toilet.

For the past 3 years she has been building special evapotranspiration toilets, at a cost of just Rs. 9,978 , which is half of what a government toilet costs.

Interestingly, the evapotranspiration toilet model used by Marta has been inspired by the model that has adopted by the Brazilian government.

Apart from doing follow-ups and surveys after every twelve months, the PhD student is also instrumental in conducting literacy programs for rural kids

'It was my dream to build a toilet for my daughter. I disliked the fact that she had to defecate in the open or hold it for too long before she could relieve herself. At present, I am working with Marta and helping her out to build more toilets in my village' said one of the villagers living in Usuri.

'Until I got married, I always thought of a ‘toilet' as a basic necessity and right. I took it for granted that we had a toilet at home. It's only when I did not have one did I realise its importance,' says Renu who worked with Marta in building toilets at her village.