Worldwide, 443 million school days are lost each year due to preventable water- and sanitation- related diseases. The lack of clean drinking water and basic toilet facilities in schools and communities throughout the developing world results in millions of children missing out on a chance to attend school, an experience which would equip them to build brighter futures for themselves and their families.
It’s hard to imagine going to school and spending the day worrying about where you’ll be able to relieve yourself in private, or where you’ll get a drink of water to quench your thirst at lunch. For Canadians, this is a completely foreign notion. When I was growing up in smalltown Ontario, the thought never even crossed my mind. Every day, I’d let the tap run, feel the cool, clean water from the fountain hit my mouth, and flush the toilet without a second thought. Yet, for millions of school-aged children around the world, days spent without access to clean water and toilets is their unfortunate reality.
Access to clean water, basic sanitation and hygiene education are the ABCs of international development and form the very building blocks of social and economic development in communities around the world. They are also integral to the health and well-being of individuals and entire communities. Sadly, the great importance of these basic services at schools has been almost entirely overlooked. However, without such facilities and training, schools risk becoming places that actually cause sickness, and in turn severely hinder the fight against global poverty.
WaterCan’s Clean Water for Schools program works to support the provision of clean water, basic sanitation and hygiene education. Since 2006, we’ve been working with local communities and African partners to find sustainable, communitydriven water and sanitation solutions for schools throughout Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. And the costs are reasonable: by WaterCan’s formula, $25 buys an African child water for life.
When boys and girls don’t have access to clean water on school grounds, the consequences can be severe and life-altering. For example, children are in danger of suffering from water- and sanitation-related diseases such as skin and eye infections, diarrhea and intestinal parasites. These diseases contribute to malnutrition and often hamper both physical and mental development, making learning difficult.
The sad reality of dirty and unhygienic school environments is that they also discourage students, particularly young girls, from even attending school. Without clean, private and gender-segregated toilet facilities, girls are prevented (by embarrassment or by their families) from attending school during menstruation. This contributes to a significant disparity in male and female primary-school graduation rates. Understandably, qualified teachers are also less willing to work at schools that don’t offer these basic services. This further prevents children from getting an education that could help their families and communities break the pervasive cycle of poverty.
I recently had an opportunity to sit down with an inspiring young girl at Bar Chando Primary School in western Kenya. She told me what her life was like before WaterCan and our partner SANA (Sustainable Aid in Africa) helped the school complete a 25,000-litre rainwater harvesting tank, four handwashing facilities and 13 toilets to benefit the 447 students.
“Before the new tank was constructed, we only had one tank and would still need to collect water from the pond,” the girl said. “I remember having to miss class time not only to collect the water but also because I suffered a lot from stomach pains and diarrhea. But this isn’t the case anymore. Now we have clean water to last us the term. We can drink it, the teachers can have tea and we can wash our hands. The girls can even shower.” This girl and her classmates have learned to manage the water and, by practising conservation, there is enough water to meet the demands of the school for all three semesters.
According to the head teacher at Bar Chando, enrolment is up, absenteeism is down and academic performance has improved since completion of this project in 2010.
It is amazing to see the difference a small project like this can make in the lives of school children — not only physically but mentally as well. The morale at the school is high and I know more good things are yet to come.
WaterCan’s Clean Water for Schools program is funded entirely by the Canadian public. Thank you for making this program such a success. Please visit www. watercan.com to learn more about this program and how you can get involved.
