WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE (WASH) Each day, 1,400 children die from preventable water related illnesses. emerge poverty free has been working in Uganda since 2000, providing safe water, sanitation and hygiene training. We mainly target primary and secondary schools to keep children healthy. Together with our local partner, we have drilled over 200 water boreholes, installed nearly 60 latrines and helped thousands of girls and boys to access clean water. This has significantly increased attendance rates and boosted enrolment, especially amongst girls.
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When we drank water from the previous well, my children used to cry with a stomach ache and had to go to the health centre to get treated. Due to the lack of clean water, the children sometimes had to miss school and stay at home, either with sickness or because they were too thirsty and had no energy to learn.” Salvatore Opio, 45
Uganda Kenya Tanzania
Over the last few years we have expanded our WASH work and are now also providing schools in Tanzania with hygiene training and water tanks, and drilling water boreholes at schools in Kenya. We have also started working on menstrual health management projects in Uganda.
The latest addition of menstrual health training is crucial, as girls face even more obstacles to schooling when they enter puberty. Menstruation in the local language Lango, is called “two due”, which directly translates to “monthly disease”. Girls have to use dirty rags and as there are no toilets or water they often miss days of school. Once they fall behind on school work, they often drop out. As part of School Health Clubs, we are spreading awareness to both boys and girls about menstruation. We are teaching them how to make re-usable sanitary pads and that periods are a natural part of life. Teachers are also trained to offer support, which means girls are more likely to stay in school and gain an education. Moses, 13, is a member of a School Health Club. He says that the best thing of being a member of the club is that it keeps you healthy.
“It is great having clean water. I used to drink water from the swamp even though it was dangerous, I had to. I used to suffer from stomach pain. But now the water borehole helps keep me healthy and saves me time. No one think it is odd that I’m a boy making sanitary pads, or being part of this group. I also taught my 2 older sisters and my mum how to make sanitary pads for household use, but I don’t sell any.”
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