CHENNAI TEEN MAKES UNIQUE WISH

Chennai, July 29: Weeks before Akshaya's 13th birthday, her parents asked her what she would like as a gift. She replied that she wanted "a toilet for a girl like me, someone who does not have one at her home in a village".

The Class VIII girl's wish came true on her birthday on July 22 when her family travelled 230km from their Chennai home to a village in Cuddalore district to hand over the bonanza to Arthi, a shanty-dweller.

"When she first voiced her wish it came as a surprise. Then we realised what a wonderful gesture it would be and readily agreed to it," recalled Akshaya's father Jayakanthan.

The businessman contacted an NGO in Cuddalore to find a suitable family that could receive Akshaya's gift.

The Centre for Sustainable Development, the NGO, picked Arthi, also a Class VIII student, after a visit to her government-run all girls' school at Perumathur near Bhuvanagiri town, not far from their Suthukuzhi village.

Arthi was chosen for two reasons - she had four sisters and a brother and her parents were day labourers who lived in a small shanty.

"Thankfully, the plot where their hut was located had space where we could build the toilet," said K. Arumugam, the NGO's secretary.

Akshaya's family sent the NGO the Rs 25,000 needed to build the toilet and it was ready in 10 days, just in time for her birthday last week. Arthi had just one request for the NGO: the toilet should be similar to the one in her school, one that required no water or septic tank and would be maintenance-free.

In the "Ecosan" toilet, ash acts as the biodegradable element that converts the waste into compost. "There is no need for a water connection and the compost could be used as manure. We have built 400 such toilets of WHO standards," Arumugam said.

Akshaya formally handed over the toilet and spent the day with Arthi's family, describing it as her "best birthday ever". "For me, it was one of contentment and for Arthi, it was a day of relief from the misery of wading out (of home) in the dark with her sisters."

Akshaya recalled how the idea had struck her. "During a road trip to Tiruchy, I struggled to find a decent toilet and spent the entire trip without a toilet break. My grandfather asked me to imagine the plight of rural women who have to go to the fields every day to relieve themselves.... It was then I decided that I would build a toilet for a poor rural family. My only condition was there should be a girl my age."

Thanks to Akshaya, seven women in Arthi's family - herself, four sisters, grandmother and mother - now have access to a toilet, besides her father, grandfather and a brother.

Akshaya, who studies in an international school in Chennai, has now started a campaign called "CleanTeen", aimed at building more such toilets for village girls. She has got funds for four toilets. "My aim is to collect funds to build 100 toilets in the next two years."