Clean water & sanitation for 600 school children

It is now known that sustainable hygiene practices can be effectively promoted in communities through a child's environment, especially if safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are provided. Although the importance of water and sanitary facilities for schools is acknowledged, in practice the water and sanitary situation in many schools in Ruiru district is deplorable, and frequently is not safe for children.

Many schools suffer from: non-existent, insufficient, or broken water supply, sanitation and hand-washing facilities; toilets and latrines that are not designed to be child friendly and do not function properly due. Some latrines are padlocked because children are not trusted to use them properly.

Many children, particularly girls, do not attend school because appropriate and private sanitation facilities are lacking. The majority of schools lack water and sanitation facilities resulting in low enrollment of girls and high student absentee rates due to frequent illnesses. Knowledge and practice of personal hygiene among the school going children in this district is also poor, for example, only 100% of the children in the target schools wash their hands after visiting latrines

The proposed project will target 1 local primary school as an entry point to provide clean and save drinking water as well as promote sanitation and hygiene behavior of the children, who in turn will communicate new behavior and skills to their homes and the broader communities surrounding the schools.

The project will provide equipments and facilities that children needs for sanitation, hand-washing, and water supply, programs supporting children to develop skills, attitudes, and knowledge of effective hygiene, and it will build the capacity of school management committees to implement school sanitation programs. Read more