Open Defecation Free Island

A toilet that found its way to the beach

I was listening to the radio last week and heard a brief announcement about a new island in Kiribati that has been declared “defecation free.” The announcement was over before I could figure out which island they were talking about or what "defecation free" meant.  I was confused as I thought everyone already had the right to defecate freely. Anyway, I asked around and as it turns out the radio announcer was referring to a new "open defecation free island," which is an island where you are no longer allowed to go to the toilet on the beach. 

early morning bathers 

This issue turns about to be rather a big deal here so I am glad that I was paying attention to the radio broadcast on the way to work.  North Tarawa was even declared the first “open defecation free” or ODF island in the Pacific and received an award for this status from the United Nations. The Kiribati President Anote Tong has also set December 2015 as the target date for the whole nation to become ODF.

I live on the Tarawa lagoon and each morning and evening neighbors wade out to the sea to relieve themselves. Sometimes they sing and I have been told this is to let me know that they are there and I try and respect their privacy.  The sewage system is limited here and the majority of people do not have toilets.  There are some projects in place to provide greater access to public toilets and I just hope that they are cleaner and smell better than ours back home as the beach just may turn out to be a better option.



Proud caretakers of a Minister's toilet.
They allow public
access if you bring your own
 toilet paper.

A Minister's toilet