A toilet charity renamed the Indian village “Maroda” after President Donald Trump Friday, saying that the gesture is meant to honor relations with the U.S. and increase support for better sanitation in India.
The new name, Trump Sulabh Village, is unofficial and will not appear on maps. The Sulabh International charity dedicates itself to building simple pit toilets across the country for free.
Many of the villagers said they did not know who Trump is but are delighted because it means they will receive free toilets in each of the village’s mud-built houses, according to The New York Times.
At the village name’s inauguration Friday, villagers shouted “Zindabad Trump!” which translates to “Long live Trump!” The ceremony occurred before Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head to Washington, D.C. to meet with Trump.
Charity founder Bindeshwar Pathak acknowledged that naming the village after Trump was an attempt to attract attention and hopefully fund their efforts to improve sanitation across India. “Trump is the president of the leading nation in the world, so that’s why I chose him,” he said.
More than 60 percent of India’s 1.3 billion people still lack access to sanitary waste facilities, and dysentery kills millions of Indian children every year.
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