‘Much more than a bathroom’: NGO Battles Argentina's High Inflation in Mission to Support Hygiene and Public Health

This year, the children of two families outside Buenos Aires celebrated a simple yet essential pleasure for the first time in their lives: the warmth of a shower inside their own home. This sea change resulted from the work of a group of volunteers who undertook bathroom construction in 48 hours under the auspices of Módulo Sanitario, an Argentinian non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides bathrooms for those without access to them.

Before the construction of the bathroom facilities, the families had been using a latrine outside their homes, whether in the darkness of night or under extreme heat, cold, or rain. According to Módulo Sanitario, this situation can prevent families from developing essential hygiene habits such as washing hands and cleaning teeth, impacting their health and posing a great barrier to their development and integration into society, particularly for children.

The families number just over one thousand for whom the NGO has provided health solutions, but according to data compiled by the NGO, more than six million Argentinians remain without access to a bathroom in their homes. 

Below is a first-hand account of how Módulo Sanitario continues to pursue its mission of supporting public health through bathroom construction. This work continues despite new economic challenges and is ultimately a function of ongoing structural factors within the global capitalist system that position NGOs as substitutes for a properly functioning public sector able to meet the needs of its citizens. 

Qualifying the family

I volunteered with Módulo Sanitario this year during a study abroad semester in Argentina. Volunteers participate in two steps of the bathroom building process: qualifying the family and construction. 

To qualify for a bathroom installation, families must meet certain criteria:

• The home may not have a visible exterior bathroom from a previous construction.

• There must be an existing sewage system in the neighborhood.

• The layout of the home must be conducive to the building project.

If the above criteria are confirmed by volunteers, families negotiate a personalized plan to contribute a percentage of their salary toward the project.

Our first successful solicitation was a family of three: mother, father, and seven-year-old son. The boy had never known a shower or a functioning bathroom and was eager to

involve himself in the inspection of his home. Curtains divided their house into rooms, and their current bathroom consisted of a designated cement section behind the house. The father was keen to begin as soon as possible; however, there would be a six to twelve-month wait before the construction.

The second successful solicitation was a single, 28-year-old mother of seven children

ranging in age from about one to thirteen years. She sold used clothes at the local market and earned about US $8 per week in addition to government stipends to feed a family of seven. She said that her children drink from a stream of runoff water in the yard, and one child had recently been bitten by a stray dog fighting for a leftover chicken bone.

Building the bathroom

The construction of a bathroom is a two-day project where a team of four to six volunteers work together with the family to build a bathroom. Volunteers are sourced principally through social media and through partnerships such as the one with Salvador University.

Each team of volunteers has a team leader who has had previous experience with Módulo Santario builds. Equipped with a toolbox, the structural components, and a vague manual, our team embarked on a tumultuous undertaking to construct a bathroom.

Volunteers organized by Módulo Sanitario work on the bathroom construction. (Photo: Cordelia Keberle)

The construction of the base required the combined efforts of curious neighbors, the family, and our team. We then calculated, measured, arranged, and rearranged the pipes beneath the bathroom base. Subsequently, the neighbors took charge of constructing the walls and securing the roof.  Together we took paintbrushes in hand and coated the walls, and by default, ourselves, in what we were told was water-soluble paint. (We would later learn it had a strong aversion to water.) 

Despite the strenuous workload, morale remained high as we laughed our way through the seemingly impossible tasks. One of our team members was turned head over heels as she slipped in the mud while sawing, taking the chair, plank of wood, and saw down with her.

The children played a key role in maintaining morale, and they colored pictures of us hard at work and passed notes with hearts to express their gratitude.

At the end of the bathroom-building experience, the team prepares a big reveal. We decorated the bathroom with balloons and banners and we stocked it full of hygiene products and accessories. When we introduced the family to the new bathroom space, the mother broke down into tears and exclaimed how overjoyed she was that her children would know what it was to shower and would be able to go to school clean and wash their hands properly before meals.

The construction process made me consider deeply my previous conceptual framework of a bathroom. Instead of a functional space that was part of my daily routine, it morphed into something of a crucial space for sanitation and healthcare - something I had severely and erroneously taken for granted. Hygiene is a privilege not all are afforded and is something we must work to ensure that all have equitable access to.

Inflation poses new challenges 

Módulo Sanitario continues to work to ensure all Argentinian citizens have equitable access to bathroom facilities. However, new challenges to the NGO's mission are emerging in the form of Argentina's unprecedented inflation. 

The higher the inflation, the more costly it is to obtain materials for the bathrooms and to raise more money in order to continue to support the work. The cost of each bathroom to the NGO is about US $1,400. 

Families in Argentinian neighborhoods experience effects from inflation as they struggle to maintain their standard of living, and many now lack work opportunities due to an unstable socioeconomic climate. This makes subsidized bathroom payments to Módulo Sanitario increasingly difficult.

Argentina's annual inflation rate shot up to 124.4% in August 2023 and hit its highest level since 1991, according to figures released by the Argentinian government. Inflation impacts the cost of support for volunteers, such as food and accommodation during the build, so Módulo Sanitario has had to get creative. 

In order to overcome this obstacle, Modulo Sanitario volunteers have taken on additional tasks such as purchasing and donating cleaning, hygiene, and household products so families can focus their money on bathroom installments. 

In addition, Modulo Sanitario's budget proposals for construction and/or corporate volunteering have a new expedited expiration of fifteen days. With rapid inflation, they are forced to increase the cost more regularly so as not to lose money.

The Argentinian peso has become increasingly devalued since the 2018 economic crisis due to foreign debt. Research published by Person in 2023 shows that in 2020, the economic climate worsened due to a severe drought which deleteriously affected agriculture, a crucial export. 

At various points in time this year, inflation has come in at the highest level since records began, and the government continues to print money, with the cost of food and public transportation increasing significantly. In June 2023, the country published its newest bill, the 2,000 pesos, due to increasing costs. 

The website Trading Economics reports that in May 2023, inflation in Argentina came in at 114.2 percent, a 5.4 percent increase from April's figure, and it is only predicted to continue to increase throughout the year. 

Continuing the work

However, while inflation has been harmful to the organization’s work, it has also necessitated the continuation of their work in Argentina and has not halted progress. As long as volunteers and program representatives maintain their passion, they will continue to actualize their mission.

By the end of the long weekend of work, I gave off a distinct odor thanks to a conglomeration of my profuse sweat, rain, mud, paint, and pasta sauce. I was totally disheveled, covered in the dust from the street and earth from the bathroom construction. On the bus ride home, I had one thing on my mind: how glorious it would feel when I finally got home to shower.