'Bel' Is My Name

One sunny, windy day in Hamarland, Solomon, GTLI’s program manager, Mayat, our Hygiene and Sanitation coordinator, and I accompanied the HIT (Household Inspection Team) on pit latrine usage inspection duty. Bet you wish you were there!

We trudged up a hill, plunged down into a ravine that used to be filled with feces but now, miraculously, is clean, up another hill to our first hut. Thanks to Mayat’s wonderful skill as a coach, the community HIT eagerly took charge of compound inspection – inside the hut, surrounding the hut, and of course, peering into the pit latrine. Lingo Askar, leader of the HIT, particularly relished giving the women of the hut suggestions on how to improve the sanitation of the compound and the hygiene of her family.

Suddenly, each of my arms was securely tucked into the body of two women I barely recognized. Elu and Myza decided to literally “seize their opportunity." They held on tight for the next two hours, even though our trek was up and down ravines, along the sandy river bed, and in and out of huts.

We bonded – more like stuck together! Now, whenever we see each other, we no longer use names in greeting. Instead, we call out “Bel” which tells everyone within hearing distance, that we are such close friends that names are no longer needed. We are simply “Bel.”