Rusoma, a small village located in the Kohima District, is home to 5000 Angami Nagas. The locals, like most hill people, make their living from agriculture but 70 per cent of the population live below India’s poverty line.
Most villagers can only afford to build the most basic homes and nearly half have no working latrine, using the jungle instead. When the rainy season arrives, the water sources become polluted and the village is often plagued with ailments such as acute gastroenteritis, malnutrition, scrub typhus, malaria and typhoid.
Dr Kezevituo, a resident of Kohima and a member of KES, often travels to surrounding villages and had already identified Rusoma as a village in need. The Rotary Club of North Hawaii, one of KET's active supporters, offered a donation which allowed a project of latrine building to go ahead, as part of the education programme devoted to cleanliness awareness.
Thanks to the Rotary of Hawaii, the Rotary of Kohima, KET and private funding from Kohima, seven latrines in four separate buildings and locations in Rusoma have now been completed, at a cost of £700 per building. KES has taken on responsibility to carry out the health education component, and is also looking to expand the programme into other villages.
