EDITOR - Id like to walk you through one day at a rural school mainly with the intention to explore that place we all use, the toilet.
Upon arrival at the school what welcomes you is the mixture of colours of clothes that children are wearing. A good percentage of the children have never been able to afford a uniform, possibly since their first year into school. Step closer and you will discover that almost all children are bare foot. It used to be the trend that the few children who put on a pair of shoes would be children of teachers who unquestionably belonged to a different social class. But now when teachers are so lowly paid their children appear as good as any other.
The Blair toilets are so dirty that children tip toe as they enter in an effort to avoid the mess on the floor. In the boys section it is as if water is continuously being poured on the floor for the whole day, it is never dry. It is not unusual to see big white worms making their way out through the entrance or to see some lying dead as one or two kids will have taken the courage to step over them.
At the end of the day the children struggle to carry water from the bore hole or some river kilometres away to clean the toilets and this is when the broom guy whom they sarcastically call the Matenyera has to make as though he has no nose because it is his job to clean the mess close up. If one imagines that these toilets are shared with little grade zeros and ones who usually have more experience in using the bush than a toilet, then maybe you get to comprehend how dirty the toilets will be by end of the day. by e-mail
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