Through the FINISH Mondial Project things have now changed in my community
Wednesday, 29 January, 2025
Antony Faustine (28) is like a hero in his community. He helps his community at Mapilinga Village to construct better toilets but he also benefits economically. He started working as a local mason five years ago. He had not enough knowledge on toilets construction at that time but also there was no profit in the toilet construction business in his village, since few people were ready to construct toilets and others were practicing open defecation. But things have now changed.
When the FINISH Mondial project came to his village, Antony started to enjoy the fruits of his work. “I received the phone call from the village chairman that Masons are needed, so I went to the ward office and found other Masons. I was interviewed and selected to be part of the project”. He says. Antony has been empowered to construct different types of toilets such as leach pit, ventilated improved pit (VIP) and ventilated improved double ventilated pit (DVIP). All are options promoted under the FINISH Mondial project. With the help of the Ward Executive Officer, Antony along with his local mason colleagues have been raising awareness about the importance of using improved toilets. This has helped to create demand for the toilets, hence making him earn a sustainable income.
As Antony, the project team has trained a total of 267 local masons in Mwanza and Mara Regions and generated a total of 427,190 working days only from toilet constructions. He appreciates the training he got from the FINISH Mondial project. He said “I get many clients since the entire village knows that I have gone through the training and I can construct toilets well. They appreciate me and none of them came to complain about the toilet I constructed”. Antony usually educates and advises his clients about the best toilet design for them before starting with the construction. To him, toilet construction is very important since every family is in need of having a good toilet.
The maximum price of constructing a toilet is one hundred thousand and twenty Tanzanian shillings. When you meet Antony, he always says having a good toilet is a must, since a good toilet reduces the outbreak of diseases. Antony’s dream is to train other young people to become a mason so that they can be of help when he will no longer be able to manage this work.
