Communities

The ‘+’ in SWASH+ stands for “plus community impact” and represents the intent to benefit not only schools but the communities of which they are a part. In Kenya, SWASH+ interventions have included a community water component where the communities of schools receiving safe water and latrines could also elect from a menu of water provision systems like boreholes, hand-dug wells, and spring catchment systems to be shared with schools. Though ultimately these community water “packages” were discontinued because of the difficulty in raising contributions, the recognition has remained that a school should be viewed as part of a community.

SWASH+ in Kenya has also provided hospitals and clinics in the districts of its target schools with the safe water system package (water storage containers, handwashing tanks, water treatment products and promotional materials, as well as training for nurses).

A significant area of research for the project has been whether children take home hygiene messages and behaviors received in school, as this would significantly increase impact. Early findings have shown minimal influence of children over hygiene and sanitation behaviors in the home, though there is certainly an increased level of awareness. Qualitative research in a limited number of households indicates that awareness is most effectively raised through a variety of simultaneous pathways, of which schools would be just one.

In SWASH+ Central America, Water For People Honduras has directly involved community members in the project, working through parent-teacher associations (PTAs) where they exist or organizing new ones where they do not, transferring funds directly to them and training them on basic financial and project management. Parents and teachers are thus made directly responsible for the execution of the project. The PTAs manage the funds, quote and buy materials for construction, hire skilled laborers, and manage the project while providing volunteer labor.  After construction is complete, they remain responsible for operation and maintenance of the facilities, including management of a preventative maintenance fund.

This approach is designed to build community members’ skills, confidence and ability to work together and is vital to the sustainability of school WASH. It has been a great way for Water For People to increase the participation of women in water and sanitation activities, because while community water boards in Honduras are traditionally male-dominated, the PTAs are largely run by women.  The approach taps directly into the interest of community in seeing their schools improved and maintained and sets the stage for other ventures. “I feel better equipped to execute another type of project,” says Sara González, the president of a parent’s association in San Antonio de Cortes. “Now we are thinking of doing another little project to repair the roof of the school, which has quite a few holes.”