Representatives of the village apparatus accompanied the ITS Abmas team when conducting a field survey.

ITS Campus, ITS News – The problem of open defecation (BAB) is still a serious health issue in Indonesia, not least in the city of Surabaya. Departing from the awareness of the importance of stopping open defecation, the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) is determined to help the Surabaya City Government (Pemkot) achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status through the 1,000 Latrine Community Service Real Work Lecture (KKN Abmas).

The chief executive of Abmas Ir Eddy Setiadi Soedjono Dipl SE MSc Ph.D. revealed that the implementation of the Abmas 1000 Toilets was motivated by concern for people who do not have restrooms at home. According to him, having a restroom is necessary and includes a primary human need. “If you don’t have a latrine, it’s not only a loss of health, but it’s also against the law and a sin,” explained the lecturer, who is familiarly called Eddot.

In addition, he continued, ITS itself has a strong desire to help the City of Surabaya achieve ODF status or a city free of open defecation in 2024, according to the target of the Surabaya City Government. Eddot revealed that ITS actively participates in helping residents whose homes cannot be built using state money.

For example, a house was built on irrigation land and occupied for decades. The lecturer at the Department of Environmental Engineering said that there are still 6,000 houses that cannot be created using the state budget (APBN) in Surabaya.

One of the lavatories surveyed at KKN Abmas 1,000 latrines by the ITS team

In not just words, entering its 5th year of service, ITS has built more than 200 healthy latrines for the people of Surabaya. This service step begins with the construction of healthy latrines in the ring one area, which is an area directly adjacent to ITS. Among them are Gebang Putih Village, Kejawan Putih Tambak, and Keputih. As a result, the Kelurahan Gebang Putih and Kejawan Putih Tambak were successfully crowned as villages with ODF status.

With this achievement, ITS is increasingly expanding its service wings by helping Medokan Semampir and Keputih Villages. Eddot revealed that ITS had built a total of 34 healthy latrines in Medokan Semampir Village. Meanwhile, in Keputih Village, there are still 50 houses that do not have healthy latrines after the construction of more than 30 healthy latrines in 2020. “Hopefully, Medokan Semampir and Keputih Villages can achieve ODF status,” he said hopefully.

To maximize the benefits of Abmas, his team, Eddot, explained that since two years ago, the implementation of Abmas has been updated using the KKN scenario so that students can contribute to society.

For him, involving students is an excellent step toward honing the social awareness of the younger generation. This ITS expert in the field of sanitation explained that students played a role in collecting data on aid targets and conducting surveys to residents’ homes accompanied by village officials or residents.

Ir Eddy Setiadi Soedjono Dipl SE MSc Ph.D. (sitting in the middle) with officials from Gunung Anyar Village, Surabaya, and the ITS survey team when taking care of licensing for residential surveys

Eddot explained that after conducting a field survey, the ITS expert team carried out a triggering process to raise public awareness. Residents targeted for assistance were gathered at the local pavilion or village office to receive counseling on the importance of healthy latrines.

For the triggering process to continue, Eddot must be attended by at least 30 percent of women and the poor. “Women who have menstruated and can still get pregnant are disadvantaged if there are no latrines,” he added.

In the future, Eddot emphasized that ITS will continue to expand its movement so that more verified areas achieve ODF status. Not only in the city of Surabaya but also slowly growing its achievements throughout Indonesia.

He hopes that more universities will join in solving the latrine problem through the ITS initiative. Because according to him, the latrine problem is a common, even a global problem. “Latrine is a human right,” he reminded. (ITS Public Relation/far)

Reporter: Zanubiya Arifah Khofsoh