Bugiri WASH in Schools Project – Another AShare the Gift of Water Collaboration with Rotary
A project undertaken by the Rotary Club of Ntinda (Uganda) and the Rotary Club of Toronto Eglinton (Canada) and also supported by Backyard Brands and their Dealers through our SHARE the GIFT of WATER.
The Bugiri WASH in Schools (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) project began with a commitment by the Rotary Club of Ntinda (Uganda) in 2015, in collaboration with the Rotary Community Corps, WASRAG, and the Uganda Rotary Water Plus, as a model WASH project to improve access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and provide hygiene education in several rural schools in the Bugiri District of the country.
A comprehensive needs assessment, sponsored by the Ntinda Rotary Club, was produced in May 2016 (Watermission Uganda Bugiri WASH in Schools Assessment Report, 2016). The same year, the Rotary Club of Toronto Eglinton (RTE) accepted the role as International Partner for a project hosted by the Ntinda Rotary Club focusing on 10 schools, recently lowered to 9 schools.
The RTE undertook the responsibility for raising the funds which Backyard Brands actively supported and providing technical and management advice for the provision of safe water, sanitary facilities, personal health education and menstrual hygiene management education for 9 schools in the Bugiri district located in the southeast area of the country, bordering on Lake Victoria.
The project committee at the RTE originally included Joe Clarke (chair), Nilam Bedi (co-chair), Barb Bocking, Norma Davis, Ron Denham, Jackie Scroggie, and Maureen Bird and David Libby (both of the Rotary Club of Toronto), and Dennis Gray (President of Backyard Brands and of the Rotary Club of Ithaca (NY)).
IMPLEMENTATION
The first progress report was submitted in September 2018 and approved 2 months later. This was followed by a second site visit by Joe Clarke and Dennis Gray in November 2018. By then, the educational elements of the project, undertaken by UMURDA and Days for Girls, were completed for all 4 schools, and the construction of the rain water harvesting (RWH) tanks, hand-washing facilities, and latrines for girls and boys, for the first two schools had been completed. As a result of the site visit, some enhancements of the facilities were suggested and undertaken under the supervision of the Ntinda Rotary Club with help from the newly established Rotary Club of Bugiri. These were funded by a significant supplementary contribution by the Rotary Club of Pickering (District 7070).
Since the site visit in November 2018, the retrofitting of the facilities of the first two schools was completed, and the construction of the RWH tanks, hand-washing facilities, and latrines for both girls and boys has been completed for the remaining two schools. The project was declared completed and the supervision and care of the facilities were officially transferred to the schools and the communities during the summer of 2020.
l to r: Dennis Gray, Rita Nantongo, Joe Clarke, John Wafula (driver)
Collecting water BEFORE
Rain water harvesting tank AFTER
New Latrines
Students receiving health education.
Students’ health clubs
Menstrual hygiene management education
Books created to reinforce health education
Hand washing facilities
Boys using hand-washing facilities
VIP latrines with plaques acknowledging Rotary contributions
Acknowledgments of Rotary contributions
TRANSFER TO COMMUNITY
As the project progressed, the facilities were formally transferred to the supervision and care of the local communities and related schools on July 2, 2020.
Miss Nakku Zapharah, Head teacher at Nakigunju Primary School, Bugiri District, Uganda
Project RESULTS
The Project produced the following results:
Preparatory negotiations and Community mobilization
- Stakeholder mobilization meetings were held involving 238 head teachers, District officials, parents, pupils and Rotarians.
- Thirteen village mobilizations meetings were held for Community Led Total Sanitation (CLST) training involving 180 people.
- A workshop for head teachers and District officials on Children’s Hygiene and Sanitation Training (CHAST) attended by 29 responsible individuals.
Mobilization of students
- Menstrual hygiene management training involving 8 senior and other teachers for 939 pupils.
- Student Health Clubs were established in the four schools, with 40 pupils per school.
- The Student Health Clubs undertook the making of liquid soap for use in hand washing.
Construction
- Seven 5-stance ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines were constructed for use by 621 girls and 573 boys.
- A total of 7 multi-faucet hand washing stands were provided in the four target schools.
- A total of 8 rainwater harvesting (RWH) tanks with appropriate collecting and distribution systems were constructed in the four target schools serving a total of 2327 pupils