"My Dream School" - The WASH poem that transformed the St. Joseph Musoto PS community
A common dream
Located at the tail end of the low-lying plains of Mbale, near the rear end of the iconic Wanare Hill, St. Joseph Musoto Primary School has unveiled its new Water Sanitation and Hygiene facilities.
On a journey that started with nothing more than a dream, heartily detailed in their poem "My Dream School," the St. Joseph Musoto Primary School community is delighted.
The poem was written over a year ago and envisioned a reality "where the compound is neat and clean. Where proper hygiene and sanitation tick. Where the toilets are clean and safe."
Further, the poem shares a vision of inclusion, especially for the girl child:
A school where inclusive education is embraced and girl child education is upheld.
A school with a clean water source and handwashing and soap is everybody's concern.
Yes! That is my dream school."
A dream unheard
On the other hand, the poem shares the dim reality of the circumstances they have to endure every day and the stakeholders who ignore their pleas:
But alas! Till when shall we see this?
You, stakeholders, have deaf ears to our plea.
But we shall talk and talk until you hear.
We are fed up with a dirty environment.
Smelly toilets are like rotten eggs.
Flies dining and dashing on misplaced faeces and garbage.
Polluted air we breathe in all the time.
A river of urine flowing from dirty latrine floors.
Oh! What a menace the environment is!
Giving birth to diarrhoea diseases and making children absent and money wasted.
School dropout and poor performance at its peak.
See! The brains wasted causing under development.
A dream of hope
The poem reflected what the learners and teachers experienced every day.
According to their Head Teacher, Dr Washaki Stephen, the water and sanitation facilities in the school barely reached the minimum standards, with pupils having to endure long cues for their turn to use the latrines.
The situation was also unmanageable for the senior woman teacher, Nambozo Annet.
We only had four stances for girls, and they are 1,260. Now that number versus four stances was a problem.
- Dr Washaki Stephen
The situation was so alarming, we had a few toilets, and there were so many girls, and as a senior woman teacher, I've been having a problem helping these girls.
- Nambozo Annet
A dream in progress
Today, the St. Joseph Musoto Primary School's WASH dream is coming to fruition with the support of the Mbale City authorities, WaterAid and Kimberly Clark, who have built the school a new toilet six stance block with a washroom and an incinerator so that girls can bathe and dispose of used sanitary pads as they manage their menstruation period.
Girls shall be able to go and take a bath; I have seen a washroom. So I am very happy that we are not going to suffer a lot as we have been previously.
- Catherine, a learner
The head teacher added that this is a welcome development because absenteeism was an issue. He shared that many girls opted to "stay at home for the whole week," which affected their performance in class.
The "My Dream School" poem is often performed alongside a 10-minute drama under the same title and a different poem titled "School is Calling."
The latter shares the plight of the girl child, how it impacts society, and what we need to create change.
A dream that inspires
Beyond the classroom, this collection of acts inspires teachers, parents and other stakeholders to change their mindsets on the issues highlighted.
"It has really given me joy," said Kakai Harriet, Deputy Mayor of Mbale City, after watching the students perform.
Aisha Mutonyi Mugoya, the Secretary for Social Services in Mbale City, shared her appreciation after watching their live performance, "Musoto is going to shine." She urged the Dr Washaki to train other head teachers to develop similar plays and poems with "such messages."
I've gotten a message from these children.
- Aisha Mutonyi Mugoya
