Description
Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) Project Complete
We’ve completed our 12-month WASH Project in northern Malawi in Rumphi and Mzimba districts.
With our partner SPRODETA, we have been working alongside community members in 5 villages (Lumemo, Kabila, Kasangani, Mbongondo and Makunkha) so that families and primary school students can access clean water and practice good hygiene.
The Problem
In all 5 villages the prevalence of preventable water-borne infections was high, with children regularly dying from cholera, diarrhoea and other infections. This was due to a lack of clean water as well as poor hygiene.
Children at Lumemo Primary school, where one of the water sources has been installed, were drinking water from a highly polluted stream for the last 10 years.
Women, who normally bear the burden of finding water every morning for their family, were walking for hours every day to collect a bucket of water. The extraordinary weight is a huge strain on their bodies, and the task takes up a lot of time that could be more productively spent.
What The Project Achieved
The main outcomes of the project were:
Education of hundreds of children and adults in the benefits of good hygiene – how to stay healthy through good personal hygiene and by living in a safe, clean environment.
Training for hundreds of households to construct WASH-related facilities in their homes to reduce the spread of infections. Households in the project areas have constructed:
Improved covered pit latrines – each household has been encouraged to own their own toilet, which should be covered with a concrete slab to enhance safety and reduce the spread of infection from flies.
Hand washing facilities – family members have been constructing ‘tippy-taps’ – a simple hand washing facility made from a few sticks, some string and a bottle.
Dish racks – dishes are normally kept on the floor. The racks keep them clean and away from animals, and allow UV radiation from the sun to kill harmful bacteria.
Installation of 3 boreholes, and rehabilitation of 2 broken ones.
Wash rooms in homes so that women do not need to wait until it is dark to have a wash.
Community members have been fully involved in the entire project process from planning to implementation, and have been responsible for the construction of good facilities in their homes. The formation of a strong project committee made up of passionate and energetic members of the community has resulted in high uptake from families.
The Impact
The number of people washing their hands after using the toilet and before preparing food etc. has dramatically increased, and the practice is now becoming the norm in these communities.
Hundreds of men, women and children are drinking clean water every day.
The prevalence of infections has been reduced. This is measured by the number of trips community members make to the health clinic, which is a day’s walk away. These visits have become a rarity for many, rather than routine.
Ines using her new tippy tap. This simple solution, together with awareness is life changing.
One family’s new toilet and tap.
Families have learned skills and consequently built dish drying racks. The racks keep them clean and away from animals, and allow UV radiation from the sun to kill harmful bacteria.