School led total sanitation

School hygiene groups have been formed to reach the wider community.

Credit: WaterAid India

10 February 2008

WaterAid projects across India are helping deliver hygiene and sanitation to communities through the involvement of schools.

Progresses made on clean water projects include the rehabilitation and installation of boreholes in three government schools.

Meanwhile new sanitation facilities have been installed in other schools using a new water delivery technology that doesn't rely on electricity. The construction of this new model helped create awareness amongst the local community not only of the importance of sanitation in schools but also of the existence of low cost solutions.

Various workshops and surveys on topics such as menstrual health and school hygiene took place to gauge student opinions and explore knowledge and attitudes towards issues of hygiene and sanitation. A School hygiene promotion programme, set up by various stakeholders including teachers, PTA and students, was created to form a platform for reaching the community. Running alongside these events teacher training workshops demonstrated the different ways of approaching these sensitive subjects, from games to creative writing.