As I grow and evolve in the WASH sector, I realize that my perspective on what messages Open Defecation Free (ODF) billboards should convey has also gone through an evolution. Initially, I believed billboards should be triggering emotions for change as used in CLTS. However, I now argue that announcing information on the achievement by the community is a more effective approach as it attracts envy and admiration from communities that may not yet have achieved the feat.
Though CLTS encourages the use of "shame" or
"social stigma" as a tool to promote behaviors, some WASH
practitioners have documented practices that don't meet basic ethical standards
and violate human rights. Some have even gone to the extent of questioning
whether CLTS undermines individual human rights in the name of the common good.
For example, April 2013 the was an outcry led by the then Eastern Province
Permanent Secretary – Patrick Mwanawasa – over a billboard announcing the open
defecation free (ODF) zones which was termed dehumanizing. The Permanent
Secretary would then order all District Commissioners in Eastern Province to
pull down the billboards in all the 15 districts.
ODF billboards should convey information on the status of the
community, highlighting progress made. This – I believe - fosters a sense of
pride and responsibility among community members, encouraging them to sustain the
ODF achievements. Thus, ODF billboards should be used to canvas support and
promote a sense of pride for the locals for achieving the feat. For non-locals,
they are for information dissemination and promotion of the achieved feat. All this, however, should be done respectfully
within sociocultural acceptable norms to amplify the messages needed to achieve
equitable and sustainable WASH for all. The Sanitation Learning Hub will be
running online training on Using
ethical images in the WASH sector which aims to equip individuals and
organisations to take respectful, ethical photos that represent the complex
realities of WASH issues.
In conclusion, my perspective on ODF billboards has shifted
from blowing a battle horn to blowing victory horn. I am quite agnostic on what
exactly is the right way of putting out the messaging on the billboard, however
the message should be more biased towards announcing the positive achievement particularly
the ODF attainments and its sustainability. Announcing achievements establishes
a positive tone and rapport with the reader. It is positive reinforcement.
