It is a warm Friday morning at Nakivubo Blue Primary in Kampala. Pupils are out of class for break time, playing all sorts of games before they return to class.

In one of the toilets, there is some sweet music playing for whoever visits the toilets. It is a song in English which was deliberately played in the toilets for the pupils.

The music is not just any song but contains sanitation and hygiene messages, composed by the school music teachers.

The song and the innovation to have the music played in the toilet was initiated as a response to amplify the prevention of Covid19 through proper handwashing practices.

Pupils reciting the sanitation prayer

According to the head teacher of Nakivubo Blue Primary school, Agnes Mugisha, the school composed a song which contains water, sanitation, and hygiene messages that keeps playing in all the toilets.

“The song contains messages like steps of washing hands, importance of drinking safe water, and cleaning the toilet among others. It is aimed at teaching the pupils best hygiene practices,” Mugisha says.

She reveals that this innovation is helping improve sanitation and hygiene among learners at school and in the community.

“We started this a year ago and the children are enjoying it. It’s their song and the messages are very clear. With this innovation we are seeing an improvement in their behaviors on toilet use and general hygiene practices,” Mugisha says.

This is not the only innovation aimed at improving sanitation at the school, but also the school has established a Sanitation Court managed by the pupils.

The court penalizes those found abusing sanitation regulations in the school.

“There are sanitation committees comprising of the learners. These police their fellow pupils and ensure there is proper sanitation. They were so helpful during the Covid-19 pandemic and still doing a great job,” Mugisha says.

Centurio Balikowa, the School Head of Sanitation says they are making the toilet attractive and educative.

“The school has a population of 1,821 but the toilets are always clean because of this innovation. Children know they have to wash hands in a proper way,” Balikowa says.

He notes that pupils are spending time washing their hands and adopting the right hygiene practices. Apart from the music, the school is succeeding in making the washrooms more pleasant.

“We encourage healthy toilet habits and good personal hygiene to protect the community from unnecessary illnesses,” Balikowa says.

Balikowa notes that the learners are sanitation ambassadors who influence fellow children, parents, and other community members.

“There are numerous poor toilet habits that must be avoided to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19. That is what we are teaching the children,” Balikowa said.

Hillary Nsubuga a Primary Five Pupil says the music in the toilet has helped improve toilet etiquette among learners.

“Even nursery pupils know how to use the toilet and to wash hands in a proper way,” Nsubuga says.

Apart from the songs playing in the toilets, the school has composed a sanitation song and sanitation prayer which is supposed to be recited by all learners.

“We also have the Super Heroes pledge where we promise to ensure good sanitation,” Nsubuga said.

The prayer and song have to be recited during the general assembly as they demonstrate how they do handwashing.

Because of this innovation Nakivubo Blue was among the five schools in Kampala that were selected as the 2022 model schools for sanitation after demonstrating their best initiative on improving sanitation.

The schools were awarded under the Toilets Making Grades (TMG) competition that is being implemented by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) with support from German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) "Sanitation for Millions" programme.

Prosper Lwamasaka, the head of Schools Inspection at the KCCA, revealed that the intervention has tremendously improved sanitation in schools.

 “The toilet is now an admirable place in our schools and this is increasing child retention and performance, especially girls who would have dropped out because of poor sanitation or sickness,” Lwamasaka said.

Centurio Balikowa, the sanitation teacher at Nakivubo Blue Primary School

Dr Michael Klingler, the GIZ Uganda Portfolio manager says,; “Schools are a key place for transforming society and we hope by improving sanitation in schools will have a huge impact on the community where the children live,”

Hillary Nsubuga a Primary Five Pupil says the music in the toilet has helped improve on the toilet etiquette among learners.

“Even nursery pupils know how to use the toilet and to wash hands in a proper way,” Nsubuga says.

Apart from the songs playing in the toilets, the school has composed a sanitation song and sanitation prayer which is supposed to be recited by all learners.

“We also have the Super Heroes pledge where we promise to ensure good sanitation,” Nsubuga said.

The prayer and song have to be recited during the general assembly as they demonstrate how they do handwashing.

Sarah Ayesiga the assistant commissioner, Special Needs Education commends Nakivubo Blue for coming up with such an initiative.

“This is a good initiative that as a Ministry we can adopt and have it scaled across the country to serve millions of children,” Ayesiga says.

She said improving sanitation should not only end at competitions but should be continuous.

This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.