Nepal: Children from 200 schools spread messages on point-of-use water treatment and hand washing

Updated - Tuesday 15 December 2009

Addressing safe water options at school in Nepal is a bigger challenge than at household level. No safe water products on the market can handle the high volume of water demand in an average school with 300 students, particularly in light of the operation and maintenance challenges. The Nepal Hygiene Improvement Project (NHIP) began in 2006 to design and identify high volume water treatment products that could address schools’ needs. These products filter water where it is needed and are known as point-of-use (POU) systems.

NHIP worked in schools in two districts and started pilot studies in 2007 to modify and refine several existing water treatment filters and finally developed a colloidal silver (CS) filter into a high volume device (15–18 litres/hour filtration capacity) that could provide safe water either from a central base or in the classroom. The project also explored other technologies such as chlorination and solar disinfection (SODIS), so that schools would have options. At the conclusion of the study, guidelines for school POU promotion were developed and implemented in 200 schools in Nepal. Schools were expected to contribute to the treatment systems in cash or in kind, normally by providing accessories such as stands or platforms for the filter, mugs for the children and buckets, etc. Members of the school management committee, teachers, or child clubs are responsible for day-to-day operation and maintenance.

A “wonderful solution” in village schools

Arunodaya Primary School in Subhang Village, Panchthat distric tin eastern region of Nepal, built a separate room for its water filters. The school has one large (100 litre capacity) CS filter, 10 small CS filters, and 50 SODIS bottles for solar water treatment. The principal says, “This is the first organisation that came to our Dalit community and offered such a wonderful solution to our village school. We were compelled to boil the water because the quality of village water was very bad, but now we can drink cool and refreshing water from these filters.”

Jorkulo Primary School in Chokmagu Village has made a separate rack for SODIS bottles and invested in a separate safe water room and platform for the large CS filter. Students use their classroom roof top for SODIS and once the water is treated they store it on the rack for use the next day. Sahid Dasahrad Primary School has strategically placed its filter outside the classroom so that villagers and visitors to the school can see how it works. The school provided a certificate of appreciation for the technicians who installed the filter and committed itself to relay safe water and sanitation messages and practices all over the village.

20 -30% decline in cases of diarrhoea

The health officer in charge of Kurumba Village (also in Panchthar district), Manoj Shah, attributes a 20‑30 percent decline in cases of diarrhoea and waterborne diseases to the promotion of safe water and hygiene in the village and in the schools.

The Chairperson of a School Management Committee in Dang district, midw estern region, Baburam Mahara says that support from UNICEF, Water Supply and Sanitation Sub-Divisional Office [WSSSDO], and the Nepal Hygiene Improvement Project “has guided us to healthy life”.

Chet Bahadur Nagarkatti, a member of the School Management Committee agrees that the village does not have the extent of waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea or cholera that used to occur on a regular basis. He said, “If a household has a member suffering from such diseases, it is for the obvious reason of not following basic hygiene practices.”

Mr. Nagarkatti and members of the Village Committee have spearheaded a separate initiative to offer households technical assistance to improve stoves. Thus a movement to have safe drinking water, a toilet, and an improved stove has now become a must for every household in the village. There are other environmental benefits. In Kurumba village Mandhwaj Lawati, manager of the village Agriculture Cooperative says “Options for safe water such as colloidal silver filters are in demand, which could help people get safe water every day and also help reduce the use of fuel wood.”

Students have tremendous potential to be effective change agents

In Nepal diarrhoeal disease accounted for 2,200 deaths in children under the age of five in 2001. To improve water quality in Nepal and spread safe water treatment knowledge and practices, the Nepal Hygiene Improvement Project (NHIP) was launched in 2006, an initiative between the government of Nepal’s Department of Water Supply and Sewerage and UNICEF. The USAID Hygiene Improvement Project provided technical assistance. However, NHIP also recognised the need to involve children in safe water and hygiene interventions.

Schools were identified as an ideal entry point because students have tremendous potential to be effective change agents ‑ it is estimated that each student can reach five family and community members with hand washing and POU messages. But to change complex behaviours and reduce waterborne illnesses it was crucial for students also to practice safe water treatment and drink clean water on daily basis at home and at school.

For additional information: http://www.hip.watsan.net/page/251

Arinita Shrestha, former USAID HIP country advisor in Nepal