New Latrines and Water Tanks Improving Hygiene for Refugee Children in Uganda

New latrines and water tanks improving hygiene for refugee children in Uganda

16/12/2022

13 new toilet blocks and water collection tanks have been installed at the newly constructed Early Childhood Development Centres we support for Congolese refugee children in Uganda.

Read about the impact they're having on hygiene and sanitation in Kyaka II refugee settlement....

The Kyaka II refugee settlement hosts around 125,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has quadrupled in size over the past three years, well beyond its intended capacity and the resulting strain on sanitation and water systems has led to several disease outbreaks over the years.

Since 2019 we have been working alongside 30 refugee communities in Kyaka II to provide quality early years education through 30 Early Childhood Development centres (preschools) and now, outdoor cluster learning groups, for over 9,000 refugee children aged 3-6 years old.

All 30 communities had existing preschool shelters, but 14 were completely dilapidated and lacked latrines and a safe water supply, so were not meeting children's basic needs. Together with Ashden award-winning, sustainable builder Haileybury Youth Trust (HYT), we built 14 brand new school buildings and accompanying toilet blocks, the last of which were completed and handed over to refugee communities earlier this year.

The original nursery buildings were not fit for purpose

The brand new school buildings have two classrooms

Construction of 14 new preschool buildings

Accompanying toilet blocks are improving hygiene and sanitation

Whilst the latrines were a welcome addition to the preschools, with no water tanks, the children were unable to wash their hands after toileting, or before eating; posing a serious health risk. The preschools used small, and often dirty containers to store water, which was contaminated and did not provide enough for the needs of the children.

Many preschools were far away from water sources, up to 2.5km in some cases; and these were often unstable or of poor quality. Communities were reluctant to clean and maintain the water sources, given their poor state, further perpetuating hygiene and sanitation issues.

Other NGOs have installed tanks at a village level in some areas of the settlement but the supply is inadequate for the growing population, and the taps are only opened on specific days each week. Some preschools were paying money for jerry cans of water to bring into the schools, but these were expensive and parents were unable to contribute to the costs.

Durable water tanks were requested by the refugee communities and parents that own the schools, via their volunteer School Management Committees.

Thanks to our generous supporters, we were able to contract HYT to begin building new rainwater collection tanks for each preschool in July 2022 and these were completed in October 2022.

Rainwater collection tanks and taps provide clean water at the preschool buildings

The 14 water tanks we installed each have a 20,000 litre capacity, and will provide a constant supply of safe, convenient, accessible water so that children can drink as well as wash their hands effectively and reduce the spread of disease. When tanks are full, they can also be used by the wider community, but in the dry season water may be reserved for the children.

Over 2,000 children now have access to safe, clean water in Kyaka II settlement, thanks to the new tanks. Teachers will continue to teach the children about good hygiene practices and proper hand washing, helping to reduce the spread of disease.

The tanks are durable and are built to last at least 10 years. They are also designed to be simple for communities to repair so are likely to last much longer.

Currently they are used to water plants and trees in and around the preschools. But the water will also be used to grow food in new school vegetable gardens to supply the children with much needed nutrients.

The Centre Management Committees are planning to begin developing these in February 2023 when the new school year starts.

WHAT THE COMMUNITY SAYS.....

A young Congolese girl, Jante, aged 6 is wearing a yellow dress standing in front of a brightly coirl, Jante, aged 6 is wearing a yellow dress standing in front of a brightly coloured wall in her classroom.

“I love my school more and more because it feels like home. Everything at school fulfils my life - the teachers, colourful classrooms, my friends, clean floors, latrine, and the water.

Before getting this water tank, our teacher, Maombi would tell us to remind our parents to bring water to school for the next day. But sometimes we would forget, or were unable to bring any, causing problems. The latrines would get dirty, and play became less enjoyable because we were too thirsty. All this changed, when we started using water from the tank, our teacher stopped quarrelling with our parents for not bringing water, they are friends now!

Sometimes, I would escape from school to home to take a cup of water. But now, we have a lot of it in the tank, when you are in class, teacher gives you water to drink and it’s so refreshing”

Ndyarushianga Jante, a 6-year-old pupil from our preschool in Mukondo

Furaha Dusabe, a middle aged black woman looks at the camera, smiling and wearing a bright floral shirt. Trees and green fields are visible in the background.

“The construction of the water tank at the preschool in Mukondo has not only improved hygiene but also greatly impacted the wellbeing of children and neighbouring
households. Our children look healthier, happier and practise good hygiene. They clean their hands before eating, after using latrines, washing faces, among others.
Parents had dropped such practices because of the water scarcity in our area. We are glad, our children have had an opportunity to learn such good and healthy practices while at school. Thank you Children on the Edge, Mungu aba barike! (God Bless You)”

Furaha Dusabe, a parent and Centre Management Committee Member

“Children used to defecate everywhere, and households neighbouring Kyamagabo preschool used to complain of children defecating in their gardens. Teachers used to share latrines with the pupils, or use neighbours’ latrines. The school population was big, and generally hygiene was so poor that learners were exposed to infections. We are so grateful for what Children on the Edge Africa did for us. All these issues have been solved”.

The Refugee Welfare Council chairperson at Kyamagabo

A group of Congolese refugee children and adults stand outside the bright green and purple new school building in Kyaka II, smiling.

The 14 new preschool buildings are part of a Early Years programme of 30 schools (16 were already fit-for-purpose), owned by refugee communities and with sustainability at its core.

We have been working with these communities since 2019 to create the best programme possible. First we facilitated strong volunteer Management Committees at each school, then we provided refugee teachers with the best Early Years training in Uganda, equipping each community with the motivation, ownership, and skills to maintain the programme beyond our involvement. Teachers receive business training and microloans as communities can't afford salaries; and learn to create learning resources from recycled materials.

Increasing numbers of people in the settlement is creating overcrowding in the preschools, so in 2022 we rolled out a complementary cluster learning programme for children to study outside in areas without a preschool building.