latrine ratio

By Lifewater International Posted on Sat 24 Aug 2013, over 12 years ago

Gemma,

This looks like a good program. I am glad to see women so involved in this process as well as much care for menstrual health for students. That is not done often enough.

I have a question about the ratio of toilets for the schools. The ratio still is about 1 door for 100 students. Although it is very good that you have enzymatic powder and can empty the toilets, it will not prevent the long lines at toilets during break times for the students. Do the schools already have some latrines or are there plans to increase the latrine coverage in the future?

For the biosand filters, are those being constructed by the women's group or purchased?

Thanks.

WASH products making and latrines ratio

By 1001 fontaines Posted on Mon 26 Aug 2013, over 12 years ago

Dear Gemma,

This project presents many interesting aspects, and it is always great to learn what other organizations are doing to place women and girls at the heart of their WASH interventions. Hajra Mukasa seems like a person of great value and very dedicated to UWWI.

Other participants already asked about the low ratio of latrines to be built compared with the number of school children. I am not sure I understand you answer to Pamela very well, so could you explain again will be done concretely to ensure that the schools are equipped with a sufficient number of latrines?

Your proposal also mentions that women’s group will be trained to make WASH projects like soap and shampoo. Could you provide some details on this part of the intervention? What will be the raw materials to be use to make these products? Will the production process require specific technology? What is the cost breakdown for these activities?

Thanks and regards,
Helene

By Global Women's Water Initiative Posted on Thu 29 Aug 2013, over 12 years ago

Hi Helene

Sorry for the confusion. As far as number of latrines. Our particular program and budget reflect the installation of 4 toilets per school. If additional latrines are needed, UWWI will apply for government grants with additional investment from the community if necessary. This is not reflected in this budget and proposal as this would be a separate proposal to the local government and/or community.

As far as the shampoo and soap. They are making 2 kinds of liquid soap - all purpose soap and creme hand soap. We have a distributor for the materials of the soap in both Kenya and Uganda for all our teams (we have teams in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya) and UWWI will make the soap and sell it. They will also make their own perfume using local plants to add fragrance.

Here are the materials.
For the all purpose soap:
Sodium Laurylether sulphate
Ammonium salt/industrial salt
Carboxymethyl cellulose
Cocodiethanolamine
Glycerine
Sodium Hydroxide
Dyes
Fragrance
Sulphonic Acid
Water

For the hand creme soap:
Sodium Laurylether sulphate
Sulphate salts
Butyl oxitol
Sulphonic Acid
Dye
Fragrance
Water

For the shampoo:
Sodium Laurylether sulphate
Sulphate salt
Lanolin
Antidandraff
EDTA
Dye
Fragrance
Water

I'll have to double check the amount per unit, but I do know that for under $75, we could make 20 gallons of all purpose soap, 10 gallons of hand soap and 10 gallons of shampoo.

I hope that's helpful.

Gemma

Metrics and Filters?

By Aqua Clara International Posted on Thu 22 Aug 2013, over 12 years ago

Hello Gemma,
This looks like a great initiative. Education for girls is extremely important as they are the ones who will be able to make necessary changes in their homes and communities as they grow. Thank you for taking this on!!

A couple of questions:
How will you measure the metrics you have suggested to see the impact of the program? Will there be follow up surveys taken and data kept?

Also, you mentioned installation of Biosand filters in each of the 5 schools as well. However, this was not mentioned in the costs?
Have these schools already received the filters from last years project, or is the cost included in other areas?

Looking forward to your response
Paul

By Lifewater International Posted on Sat 24 Aug 2013, over 12 years ago

Gemma,

This looks like a good program. I am glad to see women so involved in this process as well as much care for menstrual health for students. That is not done often enough.

I have a question about the ratio of toilets for the schools. The ratio still is about 1 door for 100 students. Although it is very good that you have enzymatic powder and can empty the toilets, it will not prevent the long lines at toilets during break times for the students. Do the schools already have some latrines or are there plans to increase the latrine coverage in the future?

For the biosand filters, are those being constructed by the women's group or purchased?

Thanks.

By Global Women's Water Initiative Posted on Sat 24 Aug 2013, over 12 years ago

Hi Pamela
Thanks so much for reviewing our proposal.

Yes, menstrual care is not done enough at all. We've found that there's menstrual education, but even with it, when there are no supplies to support the education, like affordable menstrual pads and building washing bays, then the education falls short. With women offering menstrual hygiene education along with providing pads and girl's washing bays, opportunities arise.

As far as the toilets for the schools, the schools that the team are targeting are private schools that have the capacity to mobilize money and materials like sand, gravel, and marram for the bricks and slabs from the parents. Also, Hajra, was a former health official in the region and can access government contracts to further invest in the appropriate amount of toilets. In fact, she advises GWWIs women's groups in other regions in East Africa how to qualify for government contracts.

As far as the Biosand filters, those will be constructed AND sold by the women's groups.

I hope that covers it!

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Gemma

By Global Women's Water Initiative Posted on Sat 24 Aug 2013, over 12 years ago

Also,

Hajra, as a former public health official in the community AND a graduating Master's Public Health candidate at Makarere University, she knows how to collect data, she has access to health statistics and knows how to synthesize and interpret them.

By Lifewater International Posted on Wed 28 Aug 2013, over 12 years ago

Gemma,

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. I have a follow-up question about the biosand filters. I would love to know where the training was received for the biosand filters and what monitoring of the filters is done. My reason for asking is that I have experiences where there was not too much follow up and ongoing monitoring, and the biosand filters were not doing their job well. Reasons were issues with the media and filter use, all of which seemed minor, but added up to be significant. Is this part of the ongoing work?
Thanks.
~Pamela

By Global Women's Water Initiative Posted on Thu 29 Aug 2013, over 12 years ago

Hi Pamela

I was personally trained by CAWST in their Calgary office. They are the core trainers for BSFs. Hajra was trained by myself and supplemented by a local training by Connect Africa in Uganda so she has been trained via an international org and a local org, so she has had access to both international and local learnings.

The good thing about this program is the leaders, Hajra and her staff have all at some point worked as health workers in the local government in Gomba. They have the knowledge and mechanisms to conduct follow-up and monitoring for the BSF installations, including water testing to ensure that the filters are working efficiently.

With every BSF program, the women design a follow-up strategy which is 2-3 times in the first 3 months after the installation and then as often as needed. Also, because these are being installed in schools, there are Sanitation clubs that are either existing or formed to be in charge of all the WASH facilities which include the BSF, tanks and toilets.

I hope that's helpful!
Gemma

By Lifewater International Posted on Wed 04 Sep 2013, over 12 years ago

Gemma,

Thanks for the thoughtful response. I know CAWST well and really respect their work and the trainings that they do. I am glad to hear that you have been trained by them for construction and monitoring. It sounds like you have an excellent strategy and I look forward to hearing about the impact of this program.

~Pamela

By Global Women's Water Initiative Posted on Wed 04 Sep 2013, over 12 years ago

Thanks Pamela. I'm a huge fan of Lifewater. Very inspiring! Looking forward to finding ways to continue to be of supportive of each other...
gemma