Rehabilitation Project
Clean water is flowing, latrines are complete and student leaders are teaching at the Huntington School!
Our implementing partner reported...
Phase 1
This school began in 1985. They have been sharing two pit latrines with the Church - 1 pit boy/1 pit girl.This head teacher/principal has been at this school for two years. When we arrived at the school unannounced, the teachers were at their boards teaching and the students were all seated at their desks with school books doing their work. Not all schools we visit are like this one. We had a long discussion with the head teacher about their water problem and then found out about their sanitation situation.
We believe this school would be a good school to do full WASH because of the level of commitment on the parts of the school personnel first and foremost. The head teacher's comment when he was asked about all the students having school books was that he wants his school to be one that is known for students being taught and for students learning. Most schools in this country do not have school books. This principal had a bookcase in his neat office that housed the books. When the teachers need the books for lessons they come and take them and then return them at the end of the lesson. All the teachers were at the school teaching on the three times we have been to that school. We are excited about this opportunity to bless this school with clean water, the Word of God and toilets because of The Water Project!
Thank you!!
The pump was spoiled for two weeks. We have done work in this village before and the headmaster contacted us. There was 14 ft of water in the well when we installed the new Afridev. With the toilet project, we will inspect in the middle of the dry season to see how much water in the well and if needed, we will build new casing and sink them to insure that this well will always have plenty of water to sustain a new flush/pour flush toilet facility with sinks for handwashing. At the time the toilet facility is constructed, we will install the lift pump to bring the water to an overhead tank.
Phase 2
Our implementing partner reported from the field...
During the well rehab, there was a real atmosphere of learning. When we arrived at the school on several visits, the teachers were in the classrooms teaching the students and the children were paying attention. They had books to work out of, and it was really wonderful watching the transformation take place and the anticipation and excitement rise as each step of the project moved forward. The teachers helped with the community mapping. The heads of the Countess of Huntingdon Ministry were also involved and were very excited and so thankful. It was so great to watch as the community formed a WATSAN committee and made up their rules and pulled together with gender balance. There was a real spirit of unity. The new headman is one of the teachers at the primary school and is young. The skits that were done at the dedication ceremony were outstanding! The kids did an excellent job presenting. When the team arrived, the community was dependent on a water source unable to meet their growing water needs and because of this, residents were suffering from dysentery, typhoid and malaria. During the team’s stay, community members assembled a water committee who assisted the team with the water project whenever possible, provided food for the drill team and provided security over the water project during the night. There were also several community families who offered their homes to the Sierra Leone team, for the duration of their stay. Most community members sustain their families by farming, teaching, harvesting palm wine and petty trading. One of the challenges at the school is during harvesting time, parents pull their children from the classrooms to help harvest their gardens.
The Sierra Leone team had an opportunity to meet with thirty-nine year old community member and teacher, Kamara Isatu, who stated, "I feel so good about this new hand pump and the new toilets. The water is clean, safe and protected. The waterside water is not safe or clean. The children presently only have one toilet for boys and one toilet for girls and many had been toileting in the bush. I'm so thankful for what is happening here and am very excited about this great opportunity."
In addition to being trained with the lessons, each teacher received a hygiene manual. They demonstrated a thorough understanding of the lessons and did a great job training the students. At the dedication ceremony, the children did several skits which encompassed the hygiene lessons and did a great job sensitizing the audience through the skits. The teachers assisted with the mapping of the community through the use of household surveys.
There is a Plan of Activities and a time line has been drafted. The teachers and the students who are members of the Child Health Club were given certificates, and the students in the Child Health Club were given T-shirts at the dedication. They were very excited about this. At the well rehab, we were given the information that the school had 274 students. During the initial hygiene education, the team addressed: Disease transmission, germs, hand washing, proper water saving techniques, healthy and unhealthy communities, causes of diarrhea, Oral Rehydration Solution, tippy tap and other simple hand washing solutions, community mapping and indentifying good and bad hygiene behaviors, clean hands and clean hearts and dental hygiene.
