3.3.8 Madagascar – School friends of WASH in Madagascar

The WASH National Committee promoted sanitation and hygiene in the neighbourhoods through a photo competition in primary schools.

The main activities of the project were selection of schools and photographers, having photos taken by pupils, selecting the 12 best photos and photo exhibitions in 6 regions. This approach was taken because the WASH national committee believed that photos report the real situation of sanitation and hygiene in the community.

The main achievements are that the 12 best photos were used for advocacy throughout the country and the photos also helped the community to understand their situation with respect to sanitation.

The resources required for the project were human skills/labour, camera, some finance and basic knowledge.

The lessons learnt are that photos can influence behaviour change, that photos can be used as an advocacy tool and that the type of approach adopted in this project can help to set up child to family approach.