Mrs. Tam (far left) shows her Mother's Space to the neighbors.

FIDR has been supporting the installation of “Mother's Space,” a hand-made sanitation facility that accommodates a toilet, washing place, and a shower, in Kon Tum province located in the central mountainous region, Vietnam.
In this region, many families even today do not have a toilet at home and residents have to go to a river or a water well for washing and bathing. Due to the poor sanitary environment, people with weak immunity, especially small children, had been more likely to develop a disease. Under such circumstances, the number of households that eagerly participate in the efforts to install Mother's Space has increased more and more as “it would contribute to the improvement of the situation”. Since last year when this project activity substantially started, the number has now reached about 330 households (as of April 2022).

Mothers who installed Mother's Space happily told us as follows:

Mrs. Lieu:
“Inside layout of this Mother's Space is based on my idea. I made efforts to improve useability, such as building a shelf for toilet paper, toothpaste, laundry soap, etc., and making a rain cover. Now, thanks to the new washing place, I can wash my children's toys and sandals, and keep our place very clean. The environment has become much more pleasant.”

Mrs. Tam:
“I've become to share my experiences and talk about housework and childcare with others. I've always been a shy person and could not talk in front of people. Triggered by the installation of Mother's Space, however, I have been able to overcome my shyness. I am also so glad that I could help my neighbors through Mother's Space. There used to be no toilet in this village and children were defecating in the open around houses and on the roadsides. As the number of families installing Mother's Space has increased, I feel that our homes and community have become much cleaner.