NYSC Member Builds Eco-Friendly Toilet With 3,500 Recycled Plastic Bottles in Taraba School

(Corps Member and representative of the Taraba State Government. Photo credit: Punch news)

Kleina Kuchahyel Musa, a National Youth Service Corps member, has indicated that her ambition to transform environmental garbage into useful community solutions motivated her decision to build an eco-friendly restroom facility using recycled plastic bottles.

On Friday, Musa gave a speech at Salihu Dogo Secondary School in Jalingo, Taraba State, for the opening of a sanitary facility constructed using 3,500 recycled plastic bottles.

The Taraba State Government commissioned the project, which she carried out as part of her Community Development Service.

Speaking at the event, Musa stated that the project was motivated by the need to address sanitation issues in schools while promoting environmental sustainability and the growing problem of plastic waste.

"Plastic trash is just an issue for a lot of people. However, I started to wonder, "What if this waste could become a solution?" Here in Jalingo, we've successfully recycled 3,500 plastic bottles into something useful today, making that concept a reality," she said.

She clarified that the project was created to support a number of Sustainable Development Goals, such as SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities, SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation, SDG 13 on climate action, and SDG 4 on high-quality education.

According to her, the project aimed to encourage community involvement and environmental responsibility among students and locals in addition to building a restroom.

Musa stated that she was very inspired when pupils willingly joined the construction process by helping to carry sand-filled bottles and building materials.

“In that moment, I realised the project was no longer just mine. It had become a community project,” she stated.

Gara Nongha, the chairman of the Taraba State Youth and Sports Development Agency and the chairman of the NYSC Governing Board, spoke during the commissioning event and called the program creative and significant.

He encouraged other corps members to embrace innovation and neighborhood-based initiatives that can tackle societal issues.

"I was shocked to discover a long-lasting building constructed out of plastic bottles. He remarked, "I used to only see such innovations on social media."

Nongha added that in addition to improving sanitation, the corps member had implemented a chess teaching program in the school with the goal of encouraging children to think critically, be disciplined, and make smart decisions.

"The project is not just about sanitation. In addition to the eco-toilet, Musa has implemented a chess instruction program aimed at improving children' cognitive abilities and fostering strategic thinking, he continued.

In order to guarantee the facility's sustainability, he also promised assistance with the restoration of the school's non-operational borehole.

Speaking as well, Mr. Bitrus Yakubu, the NYSC Local Government Inspector for Jalingo, praised the corps member for using creativity to solve the school's sanitary issues.

Mr. Richard Karanta, the principal of Salihu Dogo Secondary School, thanked the intervention and described it as timely and helpful for the kids.

He claims that the project supports current initiatives to enhance learning environments in public schools as well as the free education policy of the Taraba State Government.