plan 114Chikwawa Children’s Sanitation and Hygiene Program

Summary

Reduce diarrhea by increasing children’s hygienic use of latrines, improving the quality of hygiene and sanitation in the area and facilitating the emergence of sustainable sanitation services.

Background

In Malawi, latrine use by children is particularly low. The latrine also known as the “Chimbudzi” are feared by children due to the large drop hole and unreliable construction materials. Children do not start using latrines until they are 7 years old, while infants and toddlers defecate openly which means pathogen-rich feces are left unattended in the environment. This is a considerable health risk, especially in areas where hand-washing practices are poor.

School sanitation facilities are usually poor and are not designed sustainably. Schools with latrines have problems because the latrines are poorly managed, are not particularly valued and are abandoned once pits are full. Cleaning toilets is usually enforced as a form of punishment, which further erodes a child’s sense of the importance of good sanitation.

Upgrading existing household facilities is slow and undermined by subsidy-driven initiatives. Efforts to improve sanitation have been hampered by failures to develop sustainable sanitation services beyond the life of a “sanitation project” and limited evidence that previous sanitation interventions lead to increased use of latrines by children.

Location

Chikwawa, Southern, Malawi

Attachments

  • Budget-K...
  • 1 participant | show more

    PUPILS RATIO TO TOILETS

    Idriss Kamara of Safer Future Youth Development Project

    Thanks for your response. I would like to make some suggestion. Should in case you construct at least two permanent structures with at least three drop holes each in a school and for the trees you need to plant, you make compost in each of the holes where you want to plant the trees or make a general compost heap where you can get manure ...

    Thanks for your response.
    I would like to make some suggestion. Should in case you construct at least two permanent structures with at least three drop holes each in a school and for the trees you need to plant, you make compost in each of the holes where you want to plant the trees or make a general compost heap where you can get manure for the holes. I think it will minimize your cost in constructing the latrine just for the trees. How do you see that?

    What will be the depth of the proposed latrine and long does it take looking at the population of the school to empty a latrine?

  • 1 participant | show more

    latrine type and competition award

    Meera Hira-Smith of Project Well

    Comments: It is very difficult to change people's habit unless imposed and cross checked repeatedly and perhaps works a bit faster by giving merits or discredits. In my opinion there should be at least two (permanent) latrines, one for boys and one for girls and more number of urinals and proper drainage ofcourse in each school. I don't se...

    Comments: It is very difficult to change people's habit unless imposed and cross checked repeatedly and perhaps works a bit faster by giving merits or discredits. In my opinion there should be at least two (permanent) latrines, one for boys and one for girls and more number of urinals and proper drainage ofcourse in each school. I don't see any need for introducing the temporary arbour-loos system. What age group of students are in this school? With proper project type health education and credits in class and deducting credits if found not using or mis-using latrines and toilets would train the students how to use the permanent latrines.

    2: Could you please clarify how would the amount of 5000 be utilized as competition awards? Would it be given to the best school? in cash or in kinds? or would it be used to gift adult latrines to the families?

  • 1 participant | show more

    More comments

    Rick McGowan of East Meets West Foundation

    This proposal seems quite reasonable in most respects. However, I do have several comments. When you said that “Ash and dirt are added to feces after each use, which helps eliminate odors, promotes composting and increase hand-washing” I agree that ash-soil helps, but it almost sounds like you are suggesting that the kids don’t need to ...

    This proposal seems quite reasonable in most respects. However, I do have several comments.

    When you said that “Ash and dirt are added to feces after each use, which helps eliminate odors, promotes composting and increase hand-washing” I agree that ash-soil helps, but it almost sounds like you are suggesting that the kids don’t need to wash their hands with soap after defecation. Most other Watsan agencies are actively promoting handwashing with soap.

    The “buddy vouchers” appear to be an innovative approach to encourage young children to improve their hygiene and sanitation habits.

    Your proposed activity to “making full-scale composting latrines available to each household under a creative financing arrangement in which the cost of the latrines is paid back over time with the income generated from the sale of the compost” appears quite reasonable. However, who will finance these latrines (presumably costing about $100 or so)?

    You mentioned a debt being repaid, so I assume that you are going to use some sort of revolving fund to co-finance household latrine construction. However, I do not see where there is any line item in the budget to capitalize this activity. Has it been determined that there really is a substantial demand and willingness to pay for proper sanitary latrines?

    Please briefly explain what the “Fresh Water Staff” will be responsible for. Is only one person going to manage all the various activities you propose?

  • 2 participants | show more

    PUPILS RATIO TO TOILET

    Idriss Kamara of Safer Future Youth Development Project

    Could you please tell the type of latrine you are talking about because according to the UN standard regulation for toilets in schools, it should be 45 pupils to 1 drophole. Therefore 10 laterines for one school is really plenty i think. Dont you feel so? What measures will you put in place in the schools to maintain the system

    Could you please tell the type of latrine you are talking about because according to the UN standard regulation for toilets in schools, it should be 45 pupils to 1 drophole. Therefore 10 laterines for one school is really plenty i think. Dont you feel so?

    What measures will you put in place in the schools to maintain the system

    • Ned Breslin of Water for People

      Yes, we agree that 10 latrines are more than enough. The initial stage includes beautification of the school grounds. So students will be using “arbor-loos” placed on shallow pits. When the pit is full, a tree is planted in the space and the pit is moved to another location. After the arbor-loos have been used to beautify the school, t...

      Yes, we agree that 10 latrines are more than enough. The initial stage includes beautification of the school grounds. So students will be using “arbor-loos” placed on shallow pits. When the pit is full, a tree is planted in the space and the pit is moved to another location. After the arbor-loos have been used to beautify the school, the next phase will be to install permanent latrines. Included in the hygiene education, is maintenance of clean latrines but the school will also work with the sanitation promoters to empty the permanent latrines.

  • 2 participants | show more

    Children's competition and Personnel vs Admin Line items

    Gemma Bulos of A Single Drop

    Thanks for a great program! I had a few questions. 1) I would love to know how you get the kids to encourage the family to get latrines. Do you cover just the hygiene, or do you talk about cost-effectiveness? I would be interested to hear the response of the families when a child comes home and says you have to buy this, and the pare...

    Thanks for a great program! I had a few questions.

    1) I would love to know how you get the kids to encourage the family to get latrines. Do you cover just the hygiene, or do you talk about cost-effectiveness? I would be interested to hear the response of the families when a child comes home and says you have to buy this, and the parents say "we can't afford it". What crosses them over? the hygiene?

    2) In your budget, you have a personnel line item at the top and an admin section. Both have "Fresh Water" and "Fresh Water Personnel". Can you explain the difference and the roles of each "Freshwater Team" Member?

    • Ned Breslin of Water for People

      A centrally important point is that the latrines are available on loan from the sanitation promoters and is payable with compost from the latrine itself. As we all know there are numerous factors to someone acting on acquiring a latrine. High on the list are cleanliness and social status. In this case, another leveraging factor is the i...

      A centrally important point is that the latrines are available on loan from the sanitation promoters and is payable with compost from the latrine itself. As we all know there are numerous factors to someone acting on acquiring a latrine. High on the list are cleanliness and social status. In this case, another leveraging factor is the importance of school competition in culture. But this is an innovative program that is being piloted and the results are still pending.

      In the budget the personnel line item refers to 1 staff member's salary and the other line item refers to administrative costs incurred by FreshWater.

  • 3 participants | show more

    Water supply and relationship to earlier WfP project

    Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network

    This project really pushes the BPR granting focus on safe drinking water projects. Though the sanitation model is really nice (teaching them sanitation and hygiene and then sending a toilet home with the kids), the basic project to do sanitation and handwashing will cause BPR to examine its focus!

    Questions: 1. How is the water supply:

    ...

    This project really pushes the BPR granting focus on safe drinking water projects. Though the sanitation model is really nice (teaching them sanitation and hygiene and then sending a toilet home with the kids), the basic project to do sanitation and handwashing will cause BPR to examine its focus!


    Questions:
    1. How is the water supply: quality and quantity at each school? It looks like that is not an issue, but i would like to confirm that.


    2. The other WfP project in Malawi on PWX is http://www.peerwater.org/projects/46.
    Can you describe the geographical relationship between these two projects?
    That nice project was done with the Chikwawa District Assembly and an NGO called Eagle Relief. Can you also describe your relationship with the old and the new NGO and your experiences with these different organizations in the same area?


    Thanks, rajesh

    • Lynn Roberts of Agua Para La Salud (APLS)

      The paring of water projects with hygiene is essential from our experience in Guatemala. Often installing a water system does little to improve the habits of individuals to initiate hygiene practices unless they have already adopted the hygiene practices through education. Very often this is not the case and the hygiene practices must be ...

      The paring of water projects with hygiene is essential from our experience in Guatemala. Often installing a water system does little to improve the habits of individuals to initiate hygiene practices unless they have already adopted the hygiene practices through education. Very often this is not the case and the hygiene practices must be taught for the long term in order to change hygiene habits. This is especially important in schools so that another generation does not grow up to be adults and parents without learned hygiene practices.

      • Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network

        I agree with you, Lynn. Would love to see this project paired with a water project. BPR funds water projects mainly, but often adds sanitation and hygiene components. In fact, most El Porvenir projects that we have funded have a larger sanitation component than a water component. However, this application does not have a water component....

        I agree with you, Lynn.

        Would love to see this project paired with a water project. BPR funds water projects mainly, but often adds sanitation and hygiene components. In fact, most El Porvenir projects that we have funded have a larger sanitation component than a water component.

        However, this application does not have a water component. That is more difficult for us to work on.

        Isn't this the area where WfP got a nice World Bank Development Marketplace award?

        • Lynn Roberts of Agua Para La Salud (APLS)

          I hope I did not give the wrong impression about hygiene education. This is many times overlooked for want of a visual project such as water system, and latrine projects. Stand alone hygiene education projects are essential in the mix since they make water systems and latrine projects become active in saving lives. Without the education th...

          I hope I did not give the wrong impression about hygiene education. This is many times overlooked for want of a visual project such as water system, and latrine projects. Stand alone hygiene education projects are essential in the mix since they make water systems and latrine projects become active in saving lives. Without the education there is no real active element such as human involvement to pass the lesson on to the future. Passive use of a latrine or a water tap by parent does not help the child survive. I hope to see more committment to simply hygiene education.

      • Lynn Roberts of Agua Para La Salud (APLS)

        I hope I did not give the wrong impression about hygiene education. This is many times overlooked for want of a visual project such as water system, and latrine projects. Stand alone hygiene education projects are essential in the mix since they make water systems and latrine projects become active in saving lives. Without the education th...

        I hope I did not give the wrong impression about hygiene education. This is many times overlooked for want of a visual project such as water system, and latrine projects. Stand alone hygiene education projects are essential in the mix since they make water systems and latrine projects become active in saving lives. Without the education there is no real active element such as human involvement to pass the lesson on to the future. Passive use of a latrine or a water tap by parent does not help the child survive. I hope to see more committment to simply hygiene education.

    • Rajesh Shah of Blue Planet Network

      I agree with you, Lynn. Would love to see this project paired with a water project. BPR funds water projects mainly, but often adds sanitation and hygiene components. In fact, most El Porvenir projects that we have funded have a larger sanitation component than a water component. However, this application does not have a water component....

      I agree with you, Lynn.

      Would love to see this project paired with a water project. BPR funds water projects mainly, but often adds sanitation and hygiene components. In fact, most El Porvenir projects that we have funded have a larger sanitation component than a water component.

      However, this application does not have a water component. That is more difficult for us to work on.

      Isn't this the area where WfP got a nice World Bank Development Marketplace award?

      • Lynn Roberts of Agua Para La Salud (APLS)

        I hope I did not give the wrong impression about hygiene education. This is many times overlooked for want of a visual project such as water system, and latrine projects. Stand alone hygiene education projects are essential in the mix since they make water systems and latrine projects become active in saving lives. Without the education th...

        I hope I did not give the wrong impression about hygiene education. This is many times overlooked for want of a visual project such as water system, and latrine projects. Stand alone hygiene education projects are essential in the mix since they make water systems and latrine projects become active in saving lives. Without the education there is no real active element such as human involvement to pass the lesson on to the future. Passive use of a latrine or a water tap by parent does not help the child survive. I hope to see more committment to simply hygiene education.

    • Lynn Roberts of Agua Para La Salud (APLS)

      I hope I did not give the wrong impression about hygiene education. This is many times overlooked for want of a visual project such as water system, and latrine projects. Stand alone hygiene education projects are essential in the mix since they make water systems and latrine projects become active in saving lives. Without the education th...

      I hope I did not give the wrong impression about hygiene education. This is many times overlooked for want of a visual project such as water system, and latrine projects. Stand alone hygiene education projects are essential in the mix since they make water systems and latrine projects become active in saving lives. Without the education there is no real active element such as human involvement to pass the lesson on to the future. Passive use of a latrine or a water tap by parent does not help the child survive. I hope to see more committment to simply hygiene education.

    • Ned Breslin of Water for People

      We can confirm that we will meet government standards for quality and quantity of water supply. We are not familiar with an NGO called Eagle Relief but our experience with NGOs has generally been positive. We work to build their capacity to serve as long term support for their communities.

      We can confirm that we will meet government standards for quality and quantity of water supply.

      We are not familiar with an NGO called Eagle Relief but our experience with NGOs has generally been positive. We work to build their capacity to serve as long term support for their communities.

  • 3 participants | show more

    Numbers and roles

    Marc Despiegelaere of Protos

    Sounds like an innovative approach in very difficult area. Some questions remain: 1) How many children do we have per school ? 100 or 1.000 ? 2) Do we have safe water facilities in the school for the handwashing (quantity) and drinking (quality) ? 3) As far as I understand, this approach and these facilities have already been tested b...

    Sounds like an innovative approach in very difficult area.
    Some questions remain:
    1) How many children do we have per school ? 100 or 1.000 ?
    2) Do we have safe water facilities in the school for the handwashing (quantity) and drinking (quality) ?
    3) As far as I understand, this approach and these facilities have already been tested by WfP. Do we have monitoring or impact reports with respect to this approach ?
    4) What is the role of district authority in the project ? As far as I understand they are more "receivers" than "contributers" ?

    • Ned Breslin of Water for People

      Yes, this is a proposal that Water For People submitted to the World Bank’s Development Market Place and won a grant for an innovative sanitation project. We estimate that there are about 100 students per school and hand-washing facilities are included in the budget. Each school will get two facilities that include a tank and taps. The p...

      Yes, this is a proposal that Water For People submitted to the World Bank’s Development Market Place and won a grant for an innovative sanitation project. We estimate that there are about 100 students per school and hand-washing facilities are included in the budget. Each school will get two facilities that include a tank and taps. The program has been ongoing for about 8 months and we hope to have monitoring results soon. The District Assembly is one of our main government partners and they will help mobilize and sensitize the community. They will also be responsible for coordination of activities, including project supervision and planning.

      Thanks, Monica

      • Marc Despiegelaere of Protos

        Monica and Ned, We seem to have a problem with the numbers. One latrine for 100 students and 10 latrines per school = 1.000 students per school, and therefor 11.000 people affected by the program. Two handwash facilities per school and for 100 students gives 1.100 people affected by the program. 1 latrine for 100 students seems to be...

        Monica and Ned,
        We seem to have a problem with the numbers.
        One latrine for 100 students and 10 latrines per school = 1.000 students per school, and therefor 11.000 people affected by the program.
        Two handwash facilities per school and for 100 students gives 1.100 people affected by the program.
        1 latrine for 100 students seems to be not enough (do we have separated toilets for girls and boys ?), 1 for 10 students is too much. 1 hand wash facility for 50 students is OK; 1 for 500 students is not enough.
        Regards,
        Stef Lambrecht (Marc is on holidays)

        • Ned Breslin of Water for People

          Stef - Sorry for the confusion. It was a typo - it should be 100 students per school which match the ratios you name as appropriate.

          Stef - Sorry for the confusion. It was a typo - it should be 100 students per school which match the ratios you name as appropriate.

      • Ned Breslin of Water for People

        Stef - Sorry for the confusion. It was a typo - it should be 100 students per school which match the ratios you name as appropriate.

        Stef - Sorry for the confusion. It was a typo - it should be 100 students per school which match the ratios you name as appropriate.

    • Marc Despiegelaere of Protos

      Monica and Ned, We seem to have a problem with the numbers. One latrine for 100 students and 10 latrines per school = 1.000 students per school, and therefor 11.000 people affected by the program. Two handwash facilities per school and for 100 students gives 1.100 people affected by the program. 1 latrine for 100 students seems to be...

      Monica and Ned,
      We seem to have a problem with the numbers.
      One latrine for 100 students and 10 latrines per school = 1.000 students per school, and therefor 11.000 people affected by the program.
      Two handwash facilities per school and for 100 students gives 1.100 people affected by the program.
      1 latrine for 100 students seems to be not enough (do we have separated toilets for girls and boys ?), 1 for 10 students is too much. 1 hand wash facility for 50 students is OK; 1 for 500 students is not enough.
      Regards,
      Stef Lambrecht (Marc is on holidays)

      • Ned Breslin of Water for People

        Stef - Sorry for the confusion. It was a typo - it should be 100 students per school which match the ratios you name as appropriate.

        Stef - Sorry for the confusion. It was a typo - it should be 100 students per school which match the ratios you name as appropriate.

    • Ned Breslin of Water for People

      Stef - Sorry for the confusion. It was a typo - it should be 100 students per school which match the ratios you name as appropriate.

      Stef - Sorry for the confusion. It was a typo - it should be 100 students per school which match the ratios you name as appropriate.

    • Ned Breslin of Water for People

      Thanks for pointing out the typo. It is 100 students per schools and a total of 1,100 beneficiaries. This project does includes both sanitation and safe water. Although they don't have water at this time, they will at the conclusion of the project. Water For People regularly monitors its work, including its work in schools. We hav...

      Thanks for pointing out the typo. It is 100 students per schools and a total of 1,100 beneficiaries.

      This project does includes both sanitation and safe water. Although they don't have water at this time, they will at the conclusion of the project.

      Water For People regularly monitors its work, including its work in schools. We have a 97% sustainability rate.

      The Traditional Authority is our most strategically important partners. Their oversight and increased capacity are central to our strategy for sustainability and they contribute financial and human resources.

    • Rick McGowan of East Meets West Foundation

      In the Application detail, it says that 11,000 people will get safe drinking water. However, in the Q&A forum, there is no further mention of this service.

      In the Application detail, it says that 11,000 people will get safe drinking water. However, in the Q&A forum, there is no further mention of this service.