SEE Change Magazine Talks with SOIL on how COVID-19 is Impacting the Most Vulnerable

photo credit: Vic Hinterlang

“Imagine if a public toilet was your only sanitation option. In the best of times it’s a scary and unpleasant choice. Now imagine being asked to stay home when you don’t have a toilet in-house.”

Journalist and Co-Founder of SEE Change Magazine, Elisa Birnbaum, spent some time last month speaking with SOIL’s own Sasha Kramer about the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the vulnerable communities in Haiti that SOIL works alongside to provide household sanitation services.

The article takes a look at how SOIL and other organizations have had to adjust to the recent challenges caused by the pandemic, as well as some of the innovative approaches SOIL has taken to safeguard service delivery amidst the current crisis. For SOIL, providing essential sanitation services will continue, but the economic slowdown has presented new hardships for the families that use our service, many of whom have already been navigating an increasingly volatile local economy. Our commitment to finding a way to navigate this crisis with solidarity, resilience, and community will continue to guide SOIL’s response.

As we are asked by health experts and political leaders to stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19, the importance of universal access to a safe, dignified, in-home toilet is more visible than ever before. SOIL’s in-home composting toilets help provide critical access to lifesaving sanitation while simultaneously restoring ecosystems, combatting climate change, and providing livelihoods opportunities for local communities.

To learn more about how COVID-19 is impacting SOIL and under-resourced communities in the Global South, click here to explore the full SEE Change Magazine article. You can also catch Sasha talk about SOIL’s sanitation services on an earlier podcast produced by SEE Change Magazine. Enjoy the read and let us know what you think in the comment section below!