Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education in School: A Project Proposal ON
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education in School: A Project Proposal ON
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education in School: A Project Proposal ON
ON
SUBMITTED TO
Ministry of Education
Nepal
SUBMITTED BY
Background information
Earthquake in the year 2072 clearly showed that water
distribution systems in Nepal are in a crumbling state.
More and more systems are in disrepair, and the water
supply for large portions of the country, especially in rural
areas, is becoming inadequate, causing many people to
use alternative and unsafe water sources such as canals.
The most affected communities live in the pocket of
“rainfed” agricultural lands and totally depend on
precipitation not only for crop production but also for
drinking and other domestic purposes. Most of the rural
population (aboutly 70%) never had access to piped water
supply and relies on open water sources. Many
communities' capacity to maintain and improve water and
sanitation facilities remains poor due to the excessive
reliance on centralized maintenance encouraged by the
former system.
Traditionally, health and hygiene education in schools
focused on covering theory and memorization of facts
from the official school curriculum, rather than on
strengthening hygiene practices. The Government
provided formal, culturally non-specific education that
failed to generate interest, particularly in remote rural
areas. Over the past ten years, this topic in schools has
been largely disregarded. On the other hand, because of
the water shortages and infrastructure problems
mentioned above, many schools are spending time and
energy just to collect water for daily survival.
Many International Organizations and NGOs helped to
the safe water supply and basic sanitation in many schools
remains poor. Large numbers of rural schools and health
centres lack access to sanitary facilities like latrines and
hand washing facilities. Even before the earthquake,
environmental sanitation in rural areas was not a priority.
Less than 5% of the total rural population had access to
proper sewerage systems. Pit latrines are the commonly
used sanitation facility. Poor maintenance of these
facilities, especially at public places as schools and health
centres has resulted in unacceptable hygienic conditions.
Overall the PROBLEMS can be summarized as
follows:
non-existent or insufficient water supply, sanitation
and hand-washing facilities;
toilets or latrines that are not adapted to the needs of
children, in particular girls;
broken, dirty and unsafe water supply, sanitation and
hand-washing facilities;
children with poor hygiene and hand-washing
practices.
Under these conditions, schools become unsafe places
where diseases are transmitted. One of the major
problems faced by school age children is infection by
parasites and flukes. These and other diseases, often
sanitation related, obviously contribute to absenteeism,
but there is a more hidden aspect: Poor health of children
affects their ability to learn and therefore influences their
perspective in life. Good health at school is essential for
now and an investment for the future.
Working with Children on basic hygiene and
sanitation is very important:
Most children are eager to learn. Schools can stimulate
and support positive behavioral change in children.
Children have important roles in household chores
related to hygiene.
Children may question existing practices in the
household and become agents of change within their
families and communities.
Children are future parents. What they learn at school is
likely to be passed on their own children.