Pranks at Dattawadi

Good intentions may not necessarily have the desired outcome someone intended which was evidenced this week when we discovered that, in an effort to distinguish the different toilets for boys and girls, someone had crudely drawn markings all over the toilets doors. The previous demarcations were in form of decals that within a few days were removed from the toilet doors and as a prank placed either on the same toilet (Boy and girl decals)or spread randomly all over the school making for a comical sight.

Despite the well intentions of the graffiti on the toilets it appears unsightly and we realized that we have to instill a sense of ownership among the children regarding the toilets so that they do not continue to vandalize them but instead will take care of them because in a sense, they belong to them. This is an important step because we also discovered that apart from drawing on the toilets, some of the children use the toilet as a sort of storage area. We were startled to discover a lunch box placed on the roof of the toilet by a student.

This blog is one in a series that documents the journey of Saraplast in setting up an inclusive slum sanitation venture. To read more blogs in this series, click here.