Sanitation Revolution Through School ChildrenA Case Study Of

School Sanitation and Hygiene Education Programme

Shree Bhadgaun Sunwari High School Sunsari, BHASI VDC

Prepared byUNICEF, Nepal

December 2001

ABBREVIATIONS

CBO Community Based OrganizationCDO Chief District OfficerDDC District Development CommitteeDE District EngineerDEO District Education OfficeDPCP Decentralized Planning for Children ProgrammeDSC District Steering CommitteeDWSO District Water Supply OfficeDWSS Department of Water Supply and SewerageGRAD Group of Rural Awareness and DevelopmentHMG/N His Majesty’s Government of NepalIEC Information, Education and CommunicationINGO International Non-Governmental OrganizationLDO Local Development OfficerNGO Non Governmental OrganizationNRCS Nepal Red Cross SocietySM Sanitation MotivatorSMC School Management CommitteeSSHE School Sanitation and Hygiene EducationUNICEF United Nations Children’s FundVDC Village Development Committee

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CONTENT Page

Executive Summary 4

1. Introduction5-7

a) Objectivesb) Methodology

2. School Features8

3. The Programme Intervention Strategies9-12

i). District Steering Committeeii). School Management Committeeiii). Nepal Red Cross Society a Leading NGOiv). Child Clubv). BHASI VDC

4. Major Activities and Remarkable Contribution13-14

5. Strengths of the Programme15-16

6. Recommendations 17

7. Conclusion 18

7. Annexes19-24

8.1 Case Story8.2 List of the People Visited8.3 Check List

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Executive Summary

Poor sanitation and hygiene have been at the root of many preventable diseases in rural Nepal. The country has to bear an enormous cost in terms of high mortality and morbidity affecting all sections of population. Acknowledging the importance of sanitation, HMG/N adopted the National Sanitation Policy and Guideline prioritizing sanitation as an integral part of the development strategy. So far the efforts at the promotion of better sanitary conditions, have not produced measurable results as desired. To strengthen this programme UNICEF Nepal has been continuously supporting since two decades for the improvement of health and sanitation status of the people.

To promote good sanitation and hygiene practices at rural areas SSHE programme was introduced in Bhasi VDC as a model using six schools with focus on Shree Bhadgaun Sunwari High School. The district based line agencies, NGOs and VDC level institutions extended materials and other support to plan, to propagate, to implement and to sustain the sanitation and hygiene education activities.

The Child Club is at the center of SSHE in this school. It has been formed under a girl president, with a total membership strength of 500 children as the general members and 13 member executive committee provides leadership to it. Under the Child Club they have formed four sub-committees responsible for their respective activities. Other important partners in the SSHE movement are DSC, SMC, Headmaster/Teachers and VDC. UNICEF support is channeled to Bhasi VDC through NRCS which is the focal coordinating agency for the programme.

One of the remarkable activities of the Child Club is a monthly levy collection of Rs. 2.00 from each member and fund raising by means of lottery for the promotion of sanitation activities in the school. This has proved a big step to sustain the SSHE programme. The Bhasi VDC also supported the SSHE donating Rs. 180,000 for the construction of latrines in the six schools of that VDC. The SSHE programme in the project school stands out as a successful example of the coordinated

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efforts made by all concerned including GOs and NGOs. The programme success was due to the clarity in the roles and responsibilities of each partner for the model concept.

As recommendation, it is suggested that regular monitoring be done by DSC and other partners. Refresher training and exchange visit to the SMC and Child Club members will enhance their knowledge and capability. In order to maximize the function of the Child Club in a continuous manner, new student leaders should be promoted. The periodic progress report with comments and recommendations from the authorized agency or personnel need to be well disseminated to the SMC and Child Club members.

The model concept of the intensive SSHE programme has made great impact just within the two months of its implementation. The model concept of SSHE has energized and inspired positively the target community and school towards the benefits of sanitation and hygiene. The programme needs to be continued focusing on SSHE programme activities to secure the intended results in the long run.

1. IntroductionPoor sanitation is one of the key problems for the socio-economic under-development of the country. Water and sanitation related health problems remain one of the major killer diseases. It is estimated that 28,000 children die every year of diarrhoea. For this the country has to bear an enormous economic cost. The estimated annual economic cost of inadequate sanitation in 1999 ranged from Rs.4 to 10 billion. The challenges in sanitation remain huge and continue to grow.

Acknowledging the importance of sanitation, the National Sanitation Policy and Guideline adopted by His Majesty's Government of Nepal (HMG/N) has prioritized and taken promotion of sanitation as an integral part of the development strategy of the country. Inspite of some efforts made so far in the promotion of better sanitary conditions there has not been much satisfactory results. The UNICEF Nepal as a close partner of the government in this sectoral activity has been continuously providing support since the last two decades for the improvement of health and sanitation status of the people, especially in minimizing the diarrhoeal diseases among the children, as this has been one of the major reasons for high rate of mortality and morbidity.

Among the Five Regions in the country the Eastern Region has relatively greater number of interventions from related agencies. The Sunsari District was selected as a Decentralized Planning for Children Programme (DPCP) district with the aim to intensify the hygiene and

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sanitation programme taking into consideration many parameters. The School Sanitation and Hygiene Education (SSHE) programme has been initiated by UNICEF Nepal with the objective of educating the school children and motivating them to gear up changes in the community through their active involvement. The guideline prepared for the implementation of SSHE programme is regarded as a tool. If properly implemented it would bring measurable changes in the community.

The District Steering Committee (DSC) decided to select Bhasi VDC and its six schools from Sunsari District for demonstration. As per the decision of DSC, SSHE programme has been incorporated as an integral component of the Community Sanitation Approach programme in this VDC. The SSHE in Bhasi VDC is a demand driven programme, which was initiated by the community members and supported by UNICEF Nepal together with other organizations and NGOs like FORWARD and GRAD.

This case study has been prepared on the SSHE programme in Shree Bhadgaun Sunwari High School Bhasi VDC of Sunsari District, which is one of the leading government schools in the area.

a). Objectives of the Study

The fundamental objective of this case study is to assess the success and find out the improvement points for the programme in the target school.

The specific objectives are:

Examine the follow-up of the SSHE guideline and procedures developed by UNICEF Nepal.

Study the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders and partners.

Observe the school environment, sanitation, Child Clubs and its activities.

Assess the strengths of the programme.

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Observe whether the resources are properly managed.

b) Methodology Adopted

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District LevelDistrict Steering Committee

VDC School Management Committee

NGOs/CBOs

School TeachersSchoolClub

FamilyStudents

Community/Children who do not go to school

The Shree Bhadgaun Sunwari High School was selected as object of a case study to assess the strengths of SSHE programme.

During the field visit to the school the required information was gathered through interview and physical verification.

Meetings were conducted with the members of District Steering Committee, School Management Committee, School Teachers and Child Club Members.

Thorough checklist on the procedures was followed for the study.

SSHE Structure In Use At Bhadgaun Sunuwari High School

2. School Features

Shree Bhadgaun Sunwari High School offering courses from elementary to 10+2 levels is a leading government school established in 1951, situated in North-West part of the Sunsari District. The total land area of the school is 7 bigha. The school has a total of 702 girls and 698 boys. A majority of the student is from the Brahmin and Chaudhari communities.

Since the past two months, the SSHE has been introduced intensively in the school conducting various programmes such as reformation of Meena Child Club under the girl leadership (which was already there known as Meena Club), orientation to the teachers and Child Club students, baseline survey in the near by village and promotion of community awareness.

In this school six latrines, two for urinal purpose and four for urinal and defecation are in used. All latrines with septic tank were found properly maintained. For drinking water the school had three tubewells with platforms and one tap and for the wastewater management a direct link drainage pipe was laid up to the stream.

Separate Urinal for Girls

The school compound looks clean and attractive with no problem of waste management as the school has placed five containers for waste collection. And when asked with the students about the waste management, they explained that the collected waste is burnt at the end of the working day and the ash is used in garden, which was found to be very impressive.

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“Wash hands to stay clean after visiting the latrine”A slogan for better hygiene

3. The Programme Intervention Strategies

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In order to make the programme successful, different committees have been formed within the district to the field level support in which representatives from all related GOs and NGOs have been made the members.

2. The UNICEF has regularly monitored the activities and provided all kind of required support in training, social mobilization and development of the detailed plan of action together with other related activities.

Nepal Red Cross Society has been made the focal coordinating body for the overall implementation of the SSHE programme and coordination with other concerned agencies.

4. The SSHE Child Club in the project school has played the key role to bring into reality the objectives set by the programme.

5. For the successful accomplishment of the programme, the guideline on SSHE prepared by the UNICEF has been followed in sequential order by Shree Bhadgaun Sunwari High School.

i) District Steering Committee (DSC)

District Steering Committee Meeting

The District Steering Committee (DSC) was formed in 1999 under the chairmanship of the Sunsari DDC Chairperson Mr. Arvind Prasad Mehata comprising representatives from NRCS, DEO, DWSO, UNICEF and other concerned agencies who are working in water and sanitation sector. Under the agreement of DSC the UNICEF/Nepal is supporting to Bhasi VDC through the Nepal Red Cross Society. The support is channeled to Bhasi VDC through NRCS. The comments and suggestions made by DSC proved very helpful. After the formation of DSC one-day workshop was held for SMC chairperson, VDC chairperson, Headmaster, and Child Club President.

As per the decision DSC decided to select 10 VDCs for the programme implementation. Under this DSC conducted studies and developed action plan. The information was collected from those 10 VDCs by using methods like interviews, discussions and observations. As per the suggestion made by the DSC meeting they decided to select only one VDC in order to make it a model village and the choice fell on Bhasi VDC, where the DSC in response to community people’s request, launched Community Sanitation Approach in 2000 and later introduced School Sanitation and Hygiene Education (SSHE) Programme in Shree Bhadgaun Sunwari High School in 2001. One important reason behind its success was good response from community people.

DSC is responsible for overall policy formulation, monitoring and supervision. The DSC imparts responsibility to properly mobilize the resources at the local level in order to reinforce the programme in the project areas. The DSC endorses the detailed plan of action developed

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for SSHE activities and through periodic meeting and site visit provides directions to the coordinating agency and other concerned partners as well. The DSC coordinates with UNICEF and other central level agencies for necessary support action.

ii) School Management Committee (SMC)

The SMC has been formed under the chairmanship of VDC vice Chairperson Mr Narayan Prasad Kafle. It has been helping to implement the SSHE programme in Shree Bhadgaun Sunwari High

School. Other members of the SMC include headmaster, and parents. The headmaster of the school is the member-secretary of the SMC and is made responsible for the implementation of the detailed plan of action developed and adopted by SMC. Through periodic meetings, the headmaster reports about the

progress, weakness and other issues of SSHE programme. As per the guideline the SMC is responsible for all activities within the school and its monitoring and evaluation as well.School Management Committee Chairperson

The SMC has been made clear about their roles and responsibilities through one-day orientation by the UNICEF staff and other resource person. The SMC acts as a liaison between the community and the school. All political commitment required for the successful implementation of the programme is to be mobilized by the SMC.

iii) The Nepal Red Cross Society as Coordinating Agency

The Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) is a national NGO, which has basic objective to provide volunteer services to the people for their betterment. The prevailing strong network of NRCS from center to the grassroot level and their experience in working with the community is

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the reason behind for selecting NRCS Sunsari as the lead coordinating agency and secretary of district steering committee for this programme.

All SSHE activities are being channeled through NRCS and it has the overall responsibility to provide all kind of support to the concerned partners. In the district level the NRCS coordinates with other GOs and NGOs in order to maximize their support for the better implementation of the SSHE. The NRCS plays the role of the liaison between the SMC and DSC. All kinds of training and orientation activities are also facilitated by the NRCS. The budget required for the programme is made available to all through the NRCS and it is accountable for the financial matters.

iv) Child Club

The students of Bhasi secondary school had already learned about social work in their community through the reformation of Meena Child Club under the leadership of a girl student. The SSHE programme was introduced focusing same child Club in the school. In total 500 children are the members of the club and a 13 member executive committee provides leadership to it. Out of 13 member executive committee 8 are boys and 5 are girls. This club is the focal for required activities. Within the club there are four sub-committees comprising 7-9 students responsible for respective activities, as follows:

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Child Club Newsletter publication

Fund Raising Committee

Gardening Committee

Sanitation Committee

As the success of the programme entirely depends upon the involvement of students, the child club is regarded as the backbone of the SSHE programme. In order to make the club active the SMC is always in good harmony with the club leaders and through their interaction better ways are looked for anticipated results. The child club is instrumental in creating interest among the students for better sanitary practices and leadership development.

V) Bhasi Village Development Committee

School Sanitation and Hygiene Education programme in Bhasi VDC is a demand driven programme. The selection of Bhasi VDC for the programme has been justified by the good coordination and active participation of VDC. Recently the VDC provided its concrete support in the form of a donation of Rs. One Lakh Eighty Thousand for the construction of latrines in six schools.

For a VDC to set aside such a generous grant to implement the SSHE programmes through a school shows a model support to the success of the crucial basic sanitation which has to be considered a remarkable example for all others. In order to bring awareness among the school children and community people Bhasi VDC organized various programmes described in the following section.

4. Major Activities and Remarkable Contributions

a) Apart from the National Sanitation Action Week Programme, the District Steering Committee decided to launch sanitation campaign in Bhasi VDC from Aswin 20-29, 2058. For this project the school initiated different programme by involving school children/child club for the promotion of sanitation and health in the school and community. The following activities were carried out with the support and involvement of school children and other partners: Mass rally intended to create general awareness on hygiene and

sanitation. Essay competition among the school children on hygiene and

sanitation related topics Street drama with message on health, proper sanitation and

hygiene Village cleaning campaign in which every household sent one

person to participate. Postering, Hoarding Board Display, and use of public notice

board.

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Scenes from village cleaning campaign

The following major contributions were received in support of the sanitation week programme: Forestry User's Committee distributed plants to six schools

for plantation in the school compound Udhyog Banijya Sangh (Federation of Industries and

Commerce) distributed 35 containers for waste collection in different corners of the village. It provided some banners required for the campaign as well.

GRAD, a local NGO, gave refresher training to 200 Sanitation Motivators and Sanitation Volunteers.

DDC, Sunsari constructed a graveled approach road to the school.

Women involved NGO aired sanitation related messages from the local radio throughout the sanitation week.

Municipality selected a model house for reward All concerned line agencies contributed for raffle prize in

order to support the school from the amount saved. Some local CBOs helped to stage street drama

b) A remarkable support was received from the VDC in the from of Rupees One Lakh Eighty Thousand (Rs. 180,000) for the construction of latrines in six schools in the Bhasi VDC.

c) Due to the highly visible impact of the SSHE programme Sanitation Motivators have been playing key role in the promotion of sanitation in the village (please refer to the Ramri Chaudhari story in Annex 1)

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5. Strengths of the Programme

a)Community Participation as a Driving Force

The selection of the Bhasi VDC for the programme has been justified by the active participation of community leaders and inhabitants. It was observed that whatever programme is brought forward for the promotion of hygiene and sanitation the villagers have always accepted the initiative and accordingly shown their full support and

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SCHOOL

Child Club

COMMUNITY

cooperation. With the growing change in their livelihood and decreasing order of water and sanitation related diseases the people are more responsive and enthusiastic. It was stated by the local leaders that such outstanding participation of community has been the result of motivation of parents by the school children and sincere work done by sanitation motivators and volunteers. Apart from this the local NGOs, child club and school teachers have also contributed to their maximum in mobilizing the local people for better sanitation practices and adoption of improved facilities.

b)Coordination between Line Agencies

It is noteworthy that different line agencies working in the district have extended their full cooperation for the success of SSHE programme. The resources available in each agency have been properly managed through the coordination of DSC. It is understood by all partners that without coordinated approach, a complicated programme like hygiene and sanitation, which requires change in personal attitude and behavior with adoption of new practices and facilities, is not possible to achieve the desired successes. In this regard the district steering committee and UNICEF support and concern have played a vital role. This has to be continued for future programme also.

c) Clarity on Roles and Responsibility

One of the major strengths of the SSHE programme in school has been clarity on roles and responsibilities of each partner and stakeholders. As experience shows, there are much duplication in the duties and responsibilities among the concerned agencies, which results in the haphazard way of implementing the programme, thus bringing unsatisfactory outputs. But in the case of this school, serious consideration has been given to this issue and precautionary measures have been taken in clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each concerned agency. This has been well established at the beginning of the programme through consultative meetings and interaction.

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d) New Approach by the Child Club

For the smooth functioning, the child club in Bhasi high school has formed different sub-committees to look after the specific activities that has shown positive impacts on the overall efficiency of the club. The sub-committee members are trained accordingly and given specific responsibilities by the executive committee of the club. Their activities are regularly monitored and evaluated by the SMC and the club leaders. The dissemination of the club activities through the formation of sub-committee has proved to be a strength for the successful school sanitation programme.

GRAD Chairperson talking with Child Club Members Executive Members of Child Club

e)Fund Raising by the Club

The Child Club has initiated a drive for collecting Rs. 2.00 per month from each club member of 500 students and fund raising by lottery. This is a remarkable move by the students as the amount collected is carefully used for the enhancement of sanitation activities within the school as well as in the village. A transparent and upto date recording of collection and expenditure has been maintained by the students. The expenditure modality is fixed by the main executive committee through consultation with the sub-committee coordinators. The fund raising activity is a matter of high appreciation, which has emerged as a strong instrument that has to be replicated to other schools for the smooth implementation of the SSHE programme. Another point to be stressed is that the collection of levy from each student was initiated from the student themselves.

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Congratulation!!!

5. Recommendations

As the programme is moving in the right direction it is important that regular monitoring be done by DSC and other partners in order to establish the same pace of implementation in coming days.

In order to prevent slackness in student initiative once the senior students of the club leave the school it is important that new leaders be brought forward, well trained and motivated. Such arrangements should be made by the headmaster/teachers in time so that there is no vacuum in the leadership.

The VDC, SMC need to mobilize financial resources from the local level in order to support the SSHE programme.

Refresher training programme should be conducted to the child club members and teachers in every two or three years.

Exchange visit for upgrading the knowledge of the SMC, teachers and child club members should be organized.

DSC should propagate the activities and achievements made by the school programme.

Required local level IEC materials should be developed in close consultation with the child club members and teachers.

The community sanitation approach be followed by the school sanitation programme for the success, sustainability of the sanitation and hygiene programme.

The girl students should be more motivated to come into leadership for effective functioning of the child club.

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Even though the SSHE programme has a life cycle of two years it needs to be implemented on a regular basis in order to ensure better results.

The SSHE programme should have life-skills based hygiene education in order to ensure better results.

The findings and recommendations prepared by the authorized agency should be made available on timely basis to the concerned district level partners and Child Club members.

6. Conclusion

The SSHE programme in Bhasi High School of Sunsari District is a new dynamic model that has brought remarkable impacts through activation of the school child club and profound community participation in improvements on hygiene and sanitation status of the people in the village. Implementation of the SSHE following the propagation of community sanitation approach has proved to be result oriented. Reaching local parents and community through child to child approach has been adopted universally in the study area. The programme goal has been reinforced by the outreach of students to the motivated and better-informed community members with the successful launch of SSHE.

This progress report has been prepared on the basis of the findings on the programme activities, which have been in operation for not more than two months. During this short time frame, there are indications that the programme will be made successful and sustainable. But in totality, meeting the full objectives will depend upon the regular monitoring and required logistic and other supports provided to the SMC and the club. The initiation and efforts made by the students should be well-respected and necessary actions taken to reward them.

As Bhasi VDC has been selected as the model sanitation village in the Sunsari District, the success of the SSHE will prove vital for future replication of such programmes to many other adjoining villages.

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Annex 1.The Leader of a Success Story

Ramri Chaudhari

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How interesting it is that the name and the deeds have coincided in case of an outstanding Sanitation Motivator Ramri Chaudhari. The word Ramri means beautiful in Nepali and Ramri Chaudhari has established herself as synonymous the success and commitment towards good sanitation practices in the Bhasi village. Ramri Chaudhary after being selected and trained as SM by NGO, started working as a motivator. She was paid Rs. 200 per month as incentive for her work, which she decided to use for the promotion of sanitation in her village. She also took interest in motivating other motivators to use their salary for the same purpose. With the combined contribution of the amount collected from the SMs and their incentive allowance, a sanitation promotion programme was launched with sincere and active involvement of the SMs and volunteers. This brought a remarkable change in their village. The Sanitation Motivators contributed their money for the construction of toilet rings in ward no 3. Under the able leadership of Ramri all motivators meet every month and discuss about the present and future activities.

The team of SMs has developed their own format for baseline survey. Their format is being used in all wards of Bhasi VDC. They have set a target of covering all wards of the VDC and bring Bhasi to the forefront of an ideal VDC in terms of sanitation and hygiene. The motivators' team has initiated the collection of Rs.5 as fine from those individuals who cannot check dirt in their village by any whatever means. The money collected this way is again used for sanitation promotion.

Annex. 2

Name of the Persons visitedMr. Arbendra Prasad Maheta DDC Chairperson

Mr. Khem Raj Pokharel Mayor, Inarwa

Mr. Bijaya Kumar Gupta District Education Officer

Mr. Basudev Gautam Vice Chairperson, NRCS

Mr. Subhash Shrestha Engineer, DWSO

Mr. Chandra Ghimire NGOCC

Mr. Ramesh Kumar Basnet NAVIN

Mr. Badri Narayan Chaudhari Headmaster

Mrs. Ramree Chaudhari Sanitation Motivator Mr. Jitendra Kumar Shah Health Teacher

Mr. Shankhar Lal Chaudhari VDC Chairperson

Mr. Narayan Prasad Kafle SMC Chairperson/VDC Vice-Chairperson

Mrs. Kumari Neupane GRAD Chairperson

Ms. Tika Pokhrel GRAD Supervisor

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Annex 3

Check List

SettingLocation: Catchment area:Majority of the students came from (caste and W.No):

Basic Information of SchoolOverview of current situation in schoolTotal no. of students: No. of Girls/Boys: Total no. of Teachers (Female/Male):Physical facilities:No. of Latrine (defecation and urinal) /No. of Latrine for Girls/ Boys:Water facilities (functioning or not functioning):Water tap/hand pump plate-form: 2 tubewells with platform:Drainage system: Playing ground:Sanitation facilities:- No of Garbage pit:-No of Soak pit:Classroom situation: Dustbin; broom:-Classroom facilities:Additional course on sanitation and hygiene if any: Text bookFramework of SSHE in Sunsari (Bhasi): Have followed SSHE guideline ?

Before and after implementation of School Sanitation programmeNote worthy changes%Water borne diseases among school children:%Children behaviour towards sanitation:%Children using latrine:%Children washing hand after defecation, before eating and after eating:Teachers and headmaster’s response regarding sanitation:Classroom situation:Course on sanitation and hygiene if anyCommunity response towards sanitation

Role of other key-players

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Steering Committee-Lead role:-Chairperson: --No of people in steering committee: -Name of the other organizations as member of Steering committee:-Task force if any:-Detailed plan of action of work calendar, if they have:-The process they are carrying out:-Their response towards school sanitation:-Their future plan:-Their comment:-Their recommendation/suggestion for improvement, if any:

School Management Committee-Chairperson: VDC chairperson-Lead role: Headmaster:-No of people involved:-Detailed plan of action or calendar:-The process they are carrying out:-Their response towards sanitation:-How they are involving children in school sanitation:-Their future plan:-Their comments:-Their recommendations/suggestions, if any:-Empowerment and sustainability:

School Headmaster and Teachers-Their role in School Sanitation:-If they have any zero period in which they are teaching sanitation/hygiene or lecturing:-How they are helping children to develop a habit on sanitation and hygiene-Detailed plan of action, if any:-Programme planning and implementation capacity:

Child Club-Objectives:-Total number of student involved-No of boys/girls:-No of years they are working as child club members:-Working schedule/week:-If they have filled out baseline questionnaire (name of VDC and its result):-If they have conducted sanitation campaign (name of VDC and its result):-If they have prepared annual plan of action:-How they are helping other children:-If they have developed any educational material:-Their response toward sanitation:

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-Community response based on their view:-Their future plan:-Their comments:-Their recommendation/suggestion for future plan of action:

Community support if any:Other possible fund beside donor/agency:Reason for success:Weakness of the programme:Recommendations/suggestions for future plan of action:

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