Sustainable WASH in Schools: Transforming a Community 2016 Presidential Conference on WASH in Schools F. Ronald Denham, Ph.D., Chair Emeritus Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group March 19th, 2016

WASH in Schools supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all. Goal 6:Ensure universal access to water and sanitation for all, for ever. These fundamental human rights are critical to peace and security everywhere

And impacts five of Rotary’s Areas of Focus:  Basic education and literacy  Disease prevention and treatment  Water and sanitation  Maternal and child health  Economic and community development

WASH in Schools is more than support for education, it is the trigger for transforming a community:  Schools are the focal point for health, education and hygiene  Children can be change agents for an entire community  Schools can be the “Learning Centre” for hand washing and personal hygiene  Better personal practices will spread to the household  School health clubs can be catalysts for community sanitation improvement  Literacy and numeracy are key to economic self-sufficiency

But many reasons impair its effectiveness: Inappropriate Technology:  Too sophisticated for the community  No trained technicians  No spares, inadequate supply chain Inadequate Funding:  Little understanding of life-cycle costs  Tariffs inadequate to support operations and maintenance  Little community support

Or other reasons, equally damaging: Little professional management:  No “ownership” by community  No capacity building or behavior change  Little effective training of teachers  No involvement of children Little linkage to the institutional environment:  Local and national government policies  Counterproductive legislation  No commitment from local authorities

The Result? Children, especially girls, struggle with circumstances beyond their control and fail to realize their potential:  Time wasted walking long distances to water sources  Vandalised, broken water systems  Inadequate, non-functional toilets/latrines  Toilet doors stolen/broken, no private space  No gender separation of latrines  No hand washing facilities  Little knowledge among teachers of better personal hygiene practices

Sustainable WASH programs demand a holistic, integrated approach involving ALL stakeholders: Private SectorSchool Population Political-Legal Authority Culture, Values NGOs Rotary Partners Financial Framework Media BEHAVIOUR CHANGE FACILITIES BEHAVIOUR CHANGE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

 Engaging and empowering stakeholders and community  Professional management - software and hardware  Continuous monitoring and evaluation Sustainable WASH in Schools programs build on three core elements:

 Focus on schools; headmaster, teachers, students, parents.  Jointly agree on scope, goals and objectives  Conduct community needs assessments, collect baseline data  Agree on interventions: hardware and software  Confirm roles and responsibilities, school and community  Identify needed support: funding, technology, skills, knowledge  Empower WASH committee, especially the women Engage stakeholders, empower the community:

 Motivate schools to change behavior, adopt “best practices”  Train teachers and students in hand-washing, personal hygiene  Empower students through school health clubs  Change school routines: e.g. group hand-washing.  Create competition to reward change, e.g. cleaning toilets  Communicate with partners, donors, NGOs, private sector, etc.  Train Water Users Committees  Engage the media, publicize success Implement SOFTWARE changes:

 Review national, local standards  Identify possible solutions: latrines, toilets, water service  Evaluate technical, human, financial compatibility  Agree on appropriate strategies  Manage construction, build facilities and services  Prepare manuals, train in operation and maintenance  Encourage business opportunities Build facilities, implement HARDWARE changes:

 Functionality, reliability of water service  Condition, cleanliness of toilets/latrines  Utilization of toilets and latrines  Functionality, gender diversity of School WASH committee  Access and use of hand-washing facilities  Sanitation and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) education incorporated into the curriculum  Meeting national standards To measure is to KNOW: monitor operations to ensure sustainability:

 Absenteeism, especially among girls  School attendance and drop-out  Water-related illnesses  Community engagement in the school  Gender diversity of school WASH committees  Reduction of open defecation Evaluate the program: are we achieving the humanitarian goals?

Focus on the goal of sustainability throughout:  Think financial, technical, institutional sustainability  View WASH as a means to better education, not an end in itself  Develop a holistic vision for the school and community  Link to other Areas of Focus: health, maternal health, community and economic development  Change the rules: advocate for changes in government policies and legislation  Support business opportunities, create value in the community

WASRAG can help you! We can:  Provide a compendium of best practices  Identify potential matching clubs and private sector partners  Facilitate partnerships, attract donors  Provide expertise in designing sustainable processes  Facilitate workshops to get commitment from stakeholders  Design Monitoring and Evaluation processes

We’ve done it before!

Rotary led the eradication of Polio:  Created a global image of Rotary as a humanitarian organization  Co-opted other organizations: CDC, WHO, UNICEF Are We Ready For This Challenge? A holistic program to bring safe water, sanitation and hygiene to thousands of children is an opportunity to maintain that leadership.