WASH

....Your Hands!

These past few weeks we have been working on a WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Project at the health center and the nearby primary school. Everyday, way too many people in Uganda die from diarrhea related diseases due to poor sanitation and hygiene, with the vast majority being young children. The fact is, these deaths can be prevented by proper hygiene and sanitation. The topics for our Health Education classes this past term have focused on teaching students proper personal and compound/house hygiene and sanitation and it wouldn't be complete without discussing the importance of hand washing. Ashley applied for a small mini-grant and received funds to to construct permanent tippy taps, but before they were constructed we spent two weeks training on the importance of hand washing and building tippy taps with local materials. In total between the health center and school, a total of 422 people were trained on the importance of hand washing and learned how to build tippy taps.

It is always a joy to work with the kids, they are always so eager to learn and so eager to help out.

They told us they could mix the concrete, so we let them

So what is a Tippy Tap? We never knew before coming here...but it is a neat hand washing station and is simple to make from local materials. All you need is 2 sticks with a fork, 1 straight stick, a jerry can, string/rope, soap/ash with some sort of cover (we used half a water bottle), a smaller stick for a foot pedal and some water. Best of all they are very easy to make just ask the 9-14 year-old students that had no problem constructing them.

P4 Students Getting Down and Dirty Digging Holes

Deciding if the Holes are Deep Enough

A Finished Tippy Tap from Local Materials made by P4 Students

The following week we went back and installed the permanent tippy taps with metal poles. All the kids needed was a little supervision and by the end of the day they had finished all 5 wash stations.

Constructing Hand Washing Station for Nursery Classes with Matt's Guidance 

Baby Class Students Learning how to Wash their Hands with the New Stations

The health center constructed a total of 3 new hand washing stations including one for demo purposed to teach others in the community.

Keeping our Patients and their Families Healthy

What really made our day...as we were walking to town one day we saw some of our students constructing their own wash station for their families. Then while visiting a health center co-worker home we noticed he had constructed one for his family as well.

Taking the Knowledge Home