Everyone needs a place to go

Keo Samon, a rice farmer in southeastern Cambodia, had no toilet in her home. Nor was there even an outhouse or latrine for Keo and her husband and five daughters. Instead, they would defecate on land around their home, or in the rice fields.

That changed after the Water Supply and Sanitation Council, a United Nations partner, began to work with the village. Keo's family, along with 30 others, attended community-led awareness sessions, built simple dry toilets and joined the drive to make their village "open defecation-free".

"In the past, I did not know the consequences of defecating outdoors. It was simply my habit, like others in my village. We were not aware of the importance of good hygiene. But now, I am very excited to have my latrine," Keo said.