THe GSAP Microflush toilet has been successfully implemented in many schools in SSA especially in Kenya and Ghana. It encourages handwashing after use as the handwash water (~150 cc) is used to do the next toilet flush. It is about money as you cannot build toilets without some capital but often older children assist with the fabrication and that can help with the costs.
Regarding handwashing outside the toilet, GSAP and the S-Lab have developed a handwash program focusing not only on the physical component but also on the behavioral as well. Both parts are quite innovative, minimize costs, and have the potential to lead to an enduring program at schools. In spite of many expensive efforts to effect a sticky habit of handwashing at schools, efforts such as Global Handwash Day, there has been only limited success. On Global Handwash Day, the chief or administrative executive in the village will often get the water tank at the school filled, posters are made, a celebration is had, photos are taken (often the wrong images - of a child under a faucet with water freely flowing over hands and face) and yet a few weeks later it is as if the day never happened. We have been working on an intervention that was introduced at 4 schools in Ghana, 3 of which continue the program (at the 4th school, the headmistress said handwashing with soap isn't necessary and so she cancelled the program). We are preparing a flyer on the details of the intervention and this will be finished and available by the end of next month. Contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to receive a copy. On the question, "is more money needed", there is no such thing as a program without some cost but what is needed even more is "commitment".
..Steve

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Note by moderators: This post was made by a former user with the login name smecca who is no longer a member of this discussion forum.

Dear Wanjihia,

Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing your experience.
Could you please explain the acronym BoM? and CHAST ?
When you say "we have developped..." who is we ? What organisation are you part of ?
How many schools did you tackle ?

Thanks!

I would like to share our good practices and lessons learnt we have acquired during the implementation of WASH Programmes in Kenya, based on the outcomes of different knowledge sharing workshops, feedback from consultants and discussions with the Kenya programme colleagues.

Engagement with schools
Clear school mobilization strategy: our experience in the engagement with institutions, for instance schools, highlight also here the need for a clear and systematic mobilization strategy that defines the process of stakeholder engagement. The community mobilisation strategy will therefore also contain a manual for the engagement with schools.

Clear Memorandum of Understanding: it is crucial to formalise our relationship with all stakeholders present at the school in a clear MoU that defines the roles and responsibilities of each parties. The MoU should clearly outline:
• The objective, scope and duration of the project;
• Results and activities of the project;
• The commitments of each of the three parties (BoM, government, Caritas or its local partner, signing the agreements;
• Selected representatives of each of the three parties;

Partner with the school management: the BoM is in charge of the school. Any engagement with the school must therefore start with a meeting with the BoM. It is essential to engage in a transparent dialogue with the BoM about its plans and priorities with regard to WASH already at the pre-assessment stage. This will build a sound basis for a balanced partnership throughout the project implementation.

Collaboration with the head teacher: the head teacher is the secretary to the BoM and supervises the day-to-day activities within the school, holding a central position within the school. His buy-in is therefore essential to the success of any WASH intervention in school. He also informs the BoM and the parents of the latest developments and further requirements of the school. In most cases, the head teacher becomes our contact person within the school. We therefore need to engage in an open dialogue with the head teacher from the beginning and involve him/her in key activities such as the training of trainers of CHAST. Moreover, we can support the head teacher in the communication with the BoM, the parents and his staff – for instance by providing a summary of the project objectives and activities, the support required by each group, and key hygiene messages.

Operation & Maintenance
Including local artisans in O&M trainings: we train community groups in the management of water points. In schools, we train BoMs and caretakers in O&M of the water points, the latrines and handwashing facilities. In both cases, local artisans that are engaged in the construction of infrastructure should be included in the training to build their technical capacities in O&M.

O&M trainings and follow-up trainings: building capacities in O&M is an integral component of all our interventions. Refresher trainings and follow-ups are also part of any intervention which need to be realised well before the project ends.

Finances as part of O&M: roles and responsibilities, also with regard to financing repairs and spare parts, must be defined and clearly assigned during the O&M training. An action plan needs to be developed as part of the O&M training. Follow-up sessions will help the trainees translate the agreed measures into concrete actions.

O&M Manual: we have developed an O&M manual for schools, which guides the training of the BoM and will be handed over to each school. For each project location the manual needs to be adapted to include a list of local suppliers/providers for needed spare parts and materials or desludging services.

In relation to the previous post and the School Stories on the SuSanA wiki:

Dear all,

please be reminded that we in the WG7 have created a collection of sustainable WASH in School stories on the SuSanA wiki.

You find 26 stories from all over the world on the wiki when you go SuSanA Wiki -> WG 7 -> School Stories
see also attachment

You are invited to place your own story there, if you have any interesting case to share!
The wiki is open to be edited by Forum members. If you have any questions how to use the wiki, please let me know,

best regards
Claudia

Capturing pupils' perceptions on toilet facilitates in schools

With the aim to get pupils’ perspective on water, sanitation and hygiene conditions in schools, the European Environment and Health Youth Coalition (EEHYC) conducted a Survey on hygiene knowledge, attitude and practice in Lithuania (Vilnius city and district), Romania (Piatra Neamt town) and the Republic of Moldova (nationwide). More than 2000 students from three countries, aged between 12 and 19 years, have been included in the study.

The main results and findings point out that less than 30% of respondents in all countries use the toilet in schools regularly. Most of the respondents (ca. 50%) use it sometimes or only when absolutely necessary. Students (ca. 70% in all countries) highlighted that unpleasant smell in toilet rooms is a major reason for toilet avoidance, followed by the lack of cleanliness, absence of hand and menstrual hygiene equipment, lack of privacy etc.

The acceptability of school toilets is one of the most common problems in the pan-European region. Yet, students are rarely consulted about this matter. Without the input of school children, however, it is unlikely that a significant reduction in toilet avoidance can be made. Security, privacy, dignity, comfort, shame and convenience are all dimensions of toilet use on which many engineers and public health surveillance staff need more user input and feedback.

The study was implemented with the financial and technical support of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe in the framework of 2014-2016 program of work of the Protocol on Water and Health.

For detailed per country results please visit: www.eehyc.org

Dear Kris,

I cannot agree more with your suggestions but I hardly imagine this would be possible to do it in a top down manner because this means changing the curriculum and allowing parents to have a word to say, which is impossible in most countries? However it could be possible in few schools, depending on the willingness of the school head and human resources (one or two teachers enthusiastic about this kind of idea)

In the French system the daily maintenance of facilities is taken care of at municipal level : ie there is one or several technicians who are paid by the municipality and take care of the school facilities, the nursery, the roads (e.g. trees falling on the road), green areas, market area, drainage, etc. This is cost effective in terms of human resources, tools and procurement.
Of course, some municipalities allocate more funds than others so it is not perfectly equal. There is no way you could get teachers or headmasters involved in WASH or technical aspects.
I am saying this because sometimes we are trying to implement solutions in developing countries which are unthinkable in so called developed countries and I doubt we are so different.

A practical way forward could be to advocate for more vocational training like activities in schools. This is based both on the general observation that school curricular are way too theoretical in most countries (i.e. not actually teaching life skills) and that if they had such classes they would also have more technically minded teachers/staff that could manage maintenance better.

So maybe instead of advocating for better WASH facility maintenance, we should get school authorities to set up classes in basic carpentry/masonry/plumbing etc. including a budget for a small workshop and tools. This would probably help in overall facility maintenance, not only the sanitary ones.

In addition it is helpful to have a organized group of parents (in the Philippines they call it "PTA", Parent-Teacher-Association) that can maybe help out here and there with skills and small amounts of money if needed.

Hi, you asked about whether female teachers have to miss school also. In fact the only time I have heard about this problem it has been in schools with male teachers only. It is not a standard thing to have a shrine in the school grounds - only some of the time.

We have been talking about possible behaviour change communication strategies, particularly with regard to these really problematic issues like menstruation taboos. Working with religious leaders is one approach - another in this particular case would be to talk with the education department. However, there is normally a Village WASH Coordinating Committee, with participation of government staff as well as community leaders. This is probably the best place to start. There aren't easy fixes though. In many communities in far west Nepal menstruating women can't use the toilet at all as they will "make it dirty", even in communities that have been declared Open Defaecation Free.

Dear all,

Thank you to all for all contributions so far. In the following, I would like to provide a quick update on the main points and questions that emerged during the last days.

The guiding questions were/are:
- Do you agree with the statement that WASH in schools does not need more money?
- If the education sector is to manage WASH in schools, is it only a question of money whether it is successful?
- Why is it easier to build new facilities than managing existing ones and collaborate with institutions like the education sector on this?
- Are we, as members of the WASH sector, promote mismanagement in schools by putting our attention on building new facilities instead of focusing on operation and maintenance?
- Who is to blame for poorly managed WASH in schools? Donors, teachers, parents, engineers, governments?

The main discussion points up to now:

1. The inflexibility of large institutions makes it often impossible/more expensive to repair structures instead of building new ones. Institutions that manage schools on the other hand have no budget/qualified staff for maintenance beyond the most basic level.

2. A sole focus on hardware is not enough! More emphasis has to be given to the importance of “software” issues. Issues of accountability and ownership, for instance, have to be addressed as well.

3. Many successful pilots never go to scale: The example of Fit For School shows that in order to move from the micro-level (model schools) to the meso- and macro-level you have to successfully engage the political level as well. It requires a shift from individual capacity (a hands-on approach) to institutional processes.

4. The education sector has to take the lead regarding WASH in Schools. There are other stakeholders that are important, but the education sector has to take the lead among all of these actors.

5. Prioritization is crucial: It is better to have a simple but clear intervention focusing on one aspect instead of an overwhelming intervention that no school dares to start without external support. Step-wise approaches are key.

6. Improving WASH in schools is an ongoing project. A constant loop of activities is needed to ensure that schools do not fall back into poor WASH conditions.

I am looking forward to hearing more about your experiences on implementing WinS.
If you have any questions, please let me know.

Best,
Katrin

Hi Cecile,

You are right. The brochure does contain mainly western culture references. This is because it was developed in cooperation with the WHO Regional Office for Europe (www.euro.who.int/en/countries) under the WHO/UNECE Protocol on Water and Health.

The primary target group for this publication are older primary school pupils and high schools students. The dissemination has been done through our national members - partnering organizations, who are active in a field of (environmental) health education. So far we have distributed more than 600 hard copies in Austria, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, Russia etc. The dissemination activities were accompanied by education sessions, workshops and similar, conducted by our implementing partners. The feedback we received is very positive!

I would be more than willing to upload this brochure, in all 3 languages, to the SuSanA library!

@ Pamin,

I am curious about this statement:
"If there is a shrine at the school the teachers may say that girls can't attend during menstruation, as it would be disrespecting the gods".
Does this mean that female teachers also miss school every 4 weeks or so?
Sometime ago there was a discussion on this forum about the importance of relying on leaders, including religious leaders for WASH projects. What do you suggest would be culturally appropriate to influence behaviour in this case?

@ Jovana
I had a look at the Hygiene Much / Much hygiene leaflet. This is a very nice and "refreshing" awareness material but also contains lots of western cultural references. When you talk about dissemination, who are your targets, to whom and how do you intend to convey this information?
Can you upload the leaflets in SuSanA library? They are nice inspirational materials to tackle teenagers (with adaptation depending on local culture). Thanks for sharing!