Proper Sanitation and Hygiene Practices and Kitchen Garden Improve Household Health and Nutrition: A Case of Nyirandikumwami Anna
Blog | 7/01/25
For 25-year-old Anna life was lived as it came with no care at all for proper hygiene practices. Plates were washed with the little water available or just wiped with any available cloth, the washed plates would be dumped in a pan/bucket and often used while still wet. Her makeshift latrine was always open letting out so many flies that contaminated food and everything else. Washing hands after using the latrine was farfetched or even laughable, she says.
“We didn’t even feel that there was a problem with our lifestyle, yes children fell sick, but so what, we thought. Everyone falls sick from time to time until I got involved in the Vanishing Treasures project!” Anna says
Commenting on their feeding, Anna says vegetables were a luxury, first because they came with a cost of money and time – traveling to the market to buy them and two because she didn’t know the importance of a having a diet balanced with vegetables and fruits. So, she cooked them occasionally.
“However, after the training, my eyes were opened. I was challenged and beaten hands down. I loved the idea of having a kitchen garden of my own, a clean and closed latrine, the importance of having a kitchen rack and wiping utensils before using them. Oh, I learned so much!” says Anna.
After the training Anna quickly established a kitchen garden and planted onions, chayote, pumpkin, milton squash, watermelon, spinach, green pepper and dodo among others. She also applied compost manure in her kitchen garden, and this is helping them to flourish and yield better. Vegetables are now cooked and eaten daily at every meal.
Additionally, Anna and the husband put up a kitchen rack for drying their utensils, made a toilet cover and a better door for their latrine and a hand washing facility after using the latrine. They also created two bags for putting in their sorted waste – plastics and polythenes.
“All I can say is that my children’s health is beginning to stabilize. They physically look healthier and stronger than before. In the past I used to buy vegetables occasionally because of the cost and partly because I didn’t understand the importance of eating vegetables. But now I have my own. They’re in my backyard, no travel or market costs. I get them at my convenience!” says Anna.
Anna says that in the past her children were always sick and weak from colds and diarrhea but since they intentionally improved their hygiene and started eating vegetables, its almost 4 months now and none of them has complained of stomach ache or diarrhea let alone had a flu or cough.
“Our utensils are washed regularly and dried so well on our newly constructed rack. We no longer serve on dirty plates or dump the plates in buckets and saucepans. Thanks to the Vanishing Treasures project, my family is better!” a happy Anna says.
