Some words can just get into ears while some words touch mind, heart and soul of people. Those words not just show people the mirror of truth but also the bitter reality of life. One person sharing the common story of thousands silenced the hall of South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN) V during the technical session of Reaching the Unreached at the beginning just to erupt the discussion and demands to ensure right to sanitation for all, especially deliver sanitation service to the Unreached.

 A differently able person Amrita Gyawali-a consultant at Water Aid Nepal shared the challenges faced by the differently able person to access sanitation service and emphasized more on need on delivering the service to those unreached differently able people.

SACOSAN V with the slogan "Sanitation for all: All for Sanitation" was held from 21 to 24 October in Kathmandu Nepal. "Sanitation For All: Is it really for All?" she questioned the hall full of delegates from 8 different countries and none had a confident answer in his mind. Sharing her feelings she said, "I am a wheelchair user but I do not want to be helped to go to toilet as its private matter, I want to be independent and use toilet as a dignified human." This is not just a problem of her alone but a common feeling of all the differently able and aged people who find difficulty to use existing toilets and other infrastructures

Sharing her challenges and the moments of embarrassment she told, "When I was in grade one I wanted to go toilet but I could not go due to some constrains and I ended doing my pee in the class. My teacher slapped me for doing so, that day I felt bad about being wheelchair user. Complexities grew with my age but the situation has not really changed for me in case of using toilets as there are no toilets in colleges and workplace which I can use with ease."

Sharing her changed perception she told, "Now I no more feel bad about being wheelchair rather I feel that there are some faults in the infrastructure of sanitation, attitude and perception of people that has not been able to include all and that has not understood that all humans are equal and they do have equal right to live their life with dignity."In Nepal there is one public toilet for 65000 people however none of those toilets are disable friendly or inclusive.

She also shared that the women with disability are the most to suffer from these non inclusive toilets as they go through different natural phenomenon such as menstrual period that makes the situation more complex to the. "I do not eat food or water much while going outside to avoid going toilets. I have been embarrassed many times during my periods when I could not use bathroom and my clothes were stained with blood"? She recalled."That's why I avoid going outside for 4-5 days during my period to avoid such embarrassment though I have some important works waiting for me," she added.

"I also suffer from urine infection many times and I am sick and tires of being unhealthy, I want to be healthy and independent and use toilets as the dignified citizen of the country." she further added.

But is it really costly to develop the disable friendly toilets?? Answer is a big NO!!! The cost of developing inclusive toilets she told that building disability friendly toilet only costs 1-2% more than the existing ones. Inclusive toilets not mean the toilets for the physically impaired people but also for senior citizens, children, pregnant woman and non disable people too.

Motivating the forum she told, " Building disable friendly toilets are not for the permanent disable people as once in life every person has to go through some form of disability due to age, accidents or natural phenomenon."

"Building disables friendly toilet works for ALL," she highlighted.

Raising voice on behalf of differently able people Amrita said, "I have equal right to use toilet with all dignity as a normal person with ease and independence."

Being in a wheel hair is not an obstacle but inaccessibility to toilet is an obstacle – a genuinely felt reality by all at the end of her presentation.

The voice she raised in the forum erupted the discussions and demand to ensure right for sanitation and reach the unreached in terms of delivering sanitation which was later addressed in the declaration of SACOSAN V.

People may choose not to see the reality but they cannot hide from it, a day they will have to face it. Amrita Gyawali from Nepal showed them the reality and inspired them to face it, a true story shared at the right platform and right moment has now paved a way to ensure sanitation service for many unreached.

Hats off to her and her courage to share her bitter truth and embarrassment she faced in such an important forum. Hopefully the commitments after her effort will deliver sanitation to unreached.