WaterAid’s sanitation programme at Janapatha School was designed to improve the environmental sanitation problems they were facing on a daily basis.
The program currently includes two components;
- Community Mobilisation and Training
- Health & Hygiene Promotion Activities
Community Mobilisation and Training
The increased knowledge and skills that these training activities generate not only ensure the effective delivery of the programme objectives but also support the sustainability of the project outcomes in years to come.
The selection and training of the Water and Sanitation User’s Committees (WSUCs) was a critical element of the programme as the members identified form the key decision making bodies on programme activities within the community. The selection processes were carried out through participatory community meetings and members being nominated by their peers
WSUCs membership included women, whose voice is essential for the equitable and effective delivery of water and sanitation services.
WaterAid Nepal’s (WAN’s) sanitation approach relies on the mobilisation of children to stimulate changes in traditional behaviour in the community, specifically in relation to open defecation, through child to child and child to parent pressure. Child health groups, both in schools and community based, were established to increase awareness on hygiene issues amongst children.
Health & Hygiene Promotion Activities
Health & Hygiene Promotion Activities were established to address a lack of knowledge of basic hygiene practices, such as hand washing at critical times, the use of soap during hand washing, domestic waste dispose in proper place, and water and food covering practice.
Hygiene education sessions were conducted at household, Tole (cluster of households), community and school levels. Health motivators and facilitators from our national and local partners led the hygiene education activities. However they were supported by Community Health Volunteers whom they trained and engaged in the activities, and mobilised to promote improved personal and community hygiene practices.
Case Study: Young Prabin leads his family with improved sanitation practices
"It was very difficult for my father to support our education and meet the family expenses, there was no question of constructing a latrine," says Prabin Dewan who was born in Ward No. 16 in Biratnagar Sub-Metropolis.
Prabin belongs to a family of four, with a very poor economic background. It was because of his father's great desire to educate his children Prabin and his sister are in school now. As a rickshaw puller his father works hard all day long and manages to meet their school expenses.
Explaining about the difficulties faced without a latrine at home he expresses, "When we were children it did not feel odd to go out in the open but as we grew older it was very shameful and difficult, but we had no choice." Prior to the implementation of Bakhari Integrated Water, Health and Sanitation project the sanitation conditions in the community comprising was very poor.
Along with drinking water and sanitation facilities, the community people were also provided with health and hygiene education. People were encouraged to construct latrines, dish drying racks and garbage pits and bring them into proper use. "Before the project we did not have any information about good hygiene behaviour," he says. Prabin feels fortunate and proud that he and his friends are now aware about the importance of sanitation and are able to contribute towards the transformation of the community. He further proudly states that, “Now, I don’t need to feel embarrassing since I had a latrine in my own house”.
The project has also supported the establishment of the Sundar Child Club to mobilise children as key agents of change. Prabin was selected the Chairperson. "During the child club training we were provided with awards," he informs, "It motivated us to perform our duties." The child club members were mobilised to go around in the communities and monitor who would build the latrines first. Latrines started coming up gradually in the community. "We drive away anyone spotted defecating openly by blowing whistles at them, as a result of this kind of campaign it has greatly improved the environmental sanitation of our community," Prabin happily claims.
(Update posted 9 Sept 2008)
This project will cover:
- Building of a sanitation block including urinal facilities
- Formation of Water and Sanitation children’s club and training for the club members.
Project aims:
This project will reduce the incidence of sanitation related diseases by providing effective and sufficient sanitation for all 1,339 school students. The project will also improve personal hygiene behaviour of students and teachers and improve the environmental sanitation of the school.
Sanitation Issues in Nepal
WaterAid Australia enables the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. These basic human rights underpin health, education and livelihoods and form the first, essential step in overcoming poverty.
It is a travesty that in this day and age the second biggest killer of children in the world is lack of safe water and effective sanitation. Only 26% of schools in Nepal have proper toilets. Approximately 80% of students report that the existing toilets are sufficient for their use as these are not children friendly and do not address the different needs of children such as, urinals, hand washing, plates with soap and other sanitation facilities. Under such conditions schools are unsafe places because of the risk of disease. Inadequate access to safe sanitary facilities often contributes to low school enrolments and attendance, especially of girls.
The Janapatha Secondary School
Janapatha Secondary School is located on Biratnagar Sub Metropolitan City ward 15, Janapatha tole of Morang district in Nepal. There are 1,339 students made up of 708 boys and 631 girls, and 21 teachers. But, there are only two sanitation blocks - which are used only by teachers and some girls for defecation. The latrine facility is not sufficient even for the girls and teachers. The school has a tube well for drinking water.
As the majority of students have no where to go to the toilet, all the boys and many of the girls have to urinate and defecate in the area surrounding the school or even within the school. As you can imagine these areas are very polluted and provide the perfect setting for diseases to flourish.
The provision of a sanitation block will assist to stop the spread of disease and end the humiliation suffered by the students of having to go to the toilet in the open.
Hygiene Education
Another important element of this project is hygiene education. As the "Child to Child" model in health education has proved a very successful peer education model, it will be used in this project when the school sanitation club is established.
Sanitation clubs or sanitation and water committees typically are formed by students with specific responsibilities and the club undertakes hygiene education activities with the wider student population. Examples of key behaviours encouraged or issues addressed are:
- Preventing open defecation and using toilets
Washing hands after defecation, before cooking and eating meals - Maintaining personal hygiene by cutting nails, brushing teeth, bathing, combing hair
- Keeping drinking water covered
- Keeping the school clean.
Project partners / community involvement
WaterAid Australia works with local partners, who understand local issues, and provide them with the skills and support to help communities set up and manage practical and sustainable projects that meet their real needs. In this project we are working with Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) is a national level non-governmental organization (NGO) specializing in the drinking water, health promotion and sanitation sector. It has been working actively since 1992 in partnership with other local NGOs to serve poor communities secure basic services of water and sanitation and also strengthen the capacity of these partners to undertake further development activities.
The local school community in Janapatha will contribute local materials, unskilled labour and their time. The students will also contribute their time to participate in the Water Sanitation management Committee and along with the teachers who will also participate in the local meetings, training and hygiene education activities.