Community-based project benefits slump villagers<\/p>\n
Rita A.Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
Once one of the country's most powerful men, a close and loyal
\naide to the strongman Soeharto, Moerdiono is no ordinary name.<\/p>\n
In the neighborhood of Banjar Sari, a poor and densely
\npopulated area near the Ubung bus terminal in Denpasar, Moerdiono
\nremains very well remembered to this day, thanks to the public
\ntoilet that is named after him: the MCK Moerdiono, which he
\npersonally inaugurated.<\/p>\n
For more than 10 years, residents bathed, washed and did many
\nother things in the MCK, which stands for mandi (bath), cuci
\n(wash) and kakus (toilet). It didn't take long before the
\nMoerdiono toilet had become run down, smelly and dirty.<\/p>\n
MCK Moerdiono is just one of hundreds of ill-conceived
\ncommunity-based projects carried out by the New Order government
\nacross Bali, which now lie abandoned and wasted.<\/p>\n
\"I'd rather take a bath in the river than have to wait for
\nhours to use that dirty toilet,\" said Ita, a native of Lombok,
\nWest Nusa Tenggara.<\/p>\n
Local residents had hoped Moerdono would return to the village
\nto renovate his MCK, but he never came.<\/p>\n
Now, after a long wait, the residents of Banjar Sari have a
\nbrand new, clean and healthy public toilet, called MCK Jempiring.<\/p>\n
\"Finally we have a proper bathroom and toilets with clean and
\nrunning water,\" said Ita, who has lived in the area for 14 years.<\/p>\n
Standing on a 98-square-meter plot of land, rented from local
\nresident I Ketut Nasib, the new MCK has eight bathrooms and
\ntoilets equipped with showers.<\/p>\n
Beautifully decorated with creamy ceramic tiles, the public
\ntoilet is very attractive in appearance, looking a little out of
\nplace in the middle of a slum with dilapidated huts and half-
\nbrick houses.<\/p>\n
Colorful murals on each of the MCK's walls liven up the
\natmosphere, while a small lotus pond invites everybody in the
\nneighborhood to come in and try out the toilets.<\/p>\n
\"It's like entering a toilet in a star-rated hotel,\" exclaimed
\nAnto, a local teenager who will work at the MCK.<\/p>\n
Ann Thomas, a program officer with the World Bank's water and
\nsanitation project, praised the project during a visit to Banjar
\nSari village on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\"It is an impressive sanitation project. This might be one of
\nthe best public toilets built as part of a community-based
\nproject in Indonesia,\" said Thomas, who has visited a number of
\nwater and sanitation projects across the country.<\/p>\n
It is thanks to a community-based project overseen by Bali
\nFokus and funded by German non-profit organization Bremen
\nOverseas Research Development Association (BORDA), that Banjar
\nSari village now has a new toilet.<\/p>\n
The construction of the public toilet started in April 2003
\nand was completed just a few days before it was inaugurated by
\nthe Denpasar mayor on Aug. 6.<\/p>\n
\"The construction of MCK Jempiring, including land rental fee,
\ncost about Rp 180 million, paid for with a grant from BORDA. The
\noperation of the public toilet will be fully handled by locals,\"
\nsaid Yuyun Ilham, director of Bali Fokus, a local non-
\ngovernmental organization focusing on community development and
\nenvironmental issues.<\/p>\n
The public toilet is also equipped with a modern waste
\ntreatment system. With the Decentralized Waste Water Treatment
\nSystem, liquid waste from the toilet will be processed to produce
\nmethane gas for cooking.<\/p>\n
\"The methane gas will be enough to be used in three
\nhouseholds,\" Yuyun said.<\/p>\n
In practice, each resident using the public toilet has to pay
\nbetween Rp 300 and Rp 500 per visit.<\/p>\n
I Made Yasa, head of Banjar Sari traditional customary
\nvillage, said the money would be used to cover maintenance costs
\nand the salaries of two workers.<\/p>\n
According to Made, about 466 families live in the village,
\nmost of them from East Java, Lombok and poorer areas in Bali like
\nKarang Asem, Klungkung and Buleleng.<\/p>\n
\"They (migrants) came in the early l980s when Bali's economy
\nwas booming,\" Made said.<\/p>\n
Historically, Balinese families in Jempiring, Banjar Sari,
\npossessed large plots of lands. As areas adjacent to the Ubung
\nbus terminal grew as one of Denpasar's economic centers, people
\nbegan arriving in numbers from outside the island.<\/p>\n
The flood of migrants changed population patterns in Denpasar,
\nwhich now has about 500,000 residents.<\/p>\n
The arrival of large numbers of migrants opened new business
\nopportunities for locals to rent or sell their properties.<\/p>\n
As time passed, the construction of rental houses and rooms
\ngrew, violating Denpasar's city master plan. The growth of urban
\nslums like Banjar Sari was inevitable. Denpasar's now has a
\npopulation density of 3,378 people per square kilometer.<\/p>\n
Yuyun said the situation in Banjar Sari village was poor in
\nterms of a lack of proper sanitation facilities, clean water and
\nmost, of all, people's awareness of the need for a clean and
\nhealthy environment.<\/p>\n
\"It was not easy to convince the villagers they should have at
\nleast one public toilet to bathe in and wash their clothes. We
\nstarted to approach the locals in June 2002 and finished in Dec.
\n2002,\" said Yuyun.<\/p>\n
To increase the residents' awareness of hygiene and sense of
\nownership, Bali Fokus has actively involved the community in the
\nproject.<\/p>\n
\"I frequently said the planned public toilet would be used and
\nowned by the villagers, and therefore they must decide what's
\nbest for them.<\/p>\n
\"Eventually, Bali Fokus will only be providing technical
\nassistance and monitoring,\" Yudi said.<\/p>\n
Made Yasa promised that residents would take care the public
\ntoilet. \"We are very grateful and hope we can build more
\nfacilities to improve the village's condition and to empower our
\npeople, the youth especially,\" Made Yasa said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/community-based-project-benefits-slump-villagers-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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