The gospel of hygiene takes root in Gomba, thanks to Kyakulabye

Until October 31, New Vision will devote space to highlighting the plight of slum dwellers as well as profiling those offering selfless service to improve conditions in these areas.

Today, Andrew Masinde brings you the story of how Kyakulabye Development Foundation has impacted the lives of the girl-child in Gomba “We used to dodge school whenever we would be in our periods for fear of embarrassment.

I remember one day a girl I was with in Primary Five soiled her dress and the boys made fun of her. She dropped out of school to avoid ridicule.

“The school lacked secluded places where girls could go and clean themselves, but since Kyakulabye Development Foundation (KDF) came around things have changed,” says Ziad Nandaula, now in Primary Seven.

KDF is a local non-government organization that works to improve water and sanitation in poor schools in the rural areas.Since its inception in 1992 in Kabulasoke, Gomba District, KDF has constructed 350 water tanks and provided safe water to about 10 schools in Mpigi, Butambala and Gomba districts.

Pupils no longer walk long distances to look for water because it is available free of charge in the school compound. In the past pupils used to miss lessons to go out and look for water. “We used to walk over 5km in search of water which was putting us at a risk, especially the girls because this place is bushy.

I could not come to school during my periods but now no one walks for water; it is available in the school,” says Harriet Nagawa, a pupil. KDF has also built ventilated improved pit latrines (VIPs) and six tanks of 30,000cc each for various schools.

They have also distributed over 42 garbage cans to over six schools. This has greatly improved the sanitation, especially to the vulnerable girl-child who used to miss school. With grants from the Government, the foundation sensitized school children about sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The organisation works with WaterAid which donated £200 for survey. The survey found out that many schools were faced with water scarcity, affecting mainly women and girls.

Other institutions like Makerere and Kyambogo universities joined in to build capacity. By 2008 KDF had won an award as the best performers in sanitation provision to the rural schools. They partnered with Water Can which provides water to schools, cleans buildings and constructs bathrooms for the girls.

This has increased the girl-child school attendance. KDF has devised ways of informing rural school children about education matters. One of them is the Information Education and Communication (IEC) programme where they talk about environment in all the six schools.

They have also helped schools form health clubs which has resulted in a change of children’s behavior, especially toilet habits. They encouraged learning sessions in hygiene and sanitation where 2,400 pupils have benefited.

This has improved the girl-child school attendance and academic performance. “Girls in this community used not to attend school and the main reason was fear of ridicule by fellow pupils.

They would end up getting married because they would just stay home doing nothing, but since Kyakulabye came here, the number of girls attending school has increased because they now feel safe and confident,” says Namulindwa Hanifah, the senior woman teacher of Lugaaga UMEA Primary School.

KDF trains children and teachers.To ensure that the projects work, they train school administrators, management committees and the community on how to operate and maintain the facilities.

The organization meets up to 85% of the construction costs, the schools contribute15%, and the local government gives technical support, monitoring and supervision.

“The principle of the publicprivate partnership is good because it brings together local governments, civil society and the school management committees to mobilize resources, manage and maintain the projects,” says Ronald Kato Salongo, the KDF executive director.

Kato explains that in areas where tanks and pit latrines have been built, the incidence of waterborne diseases has reduced and schools have appreciated the new innovation of lining pit latrines which can last more than 10-15 years, and the advanced technologies such as the water jars. KDF constructs Ferro cement tanks and jars with funding from various donors in and outside Uganda.

“We have so far injected more than sh800m into this project,” Kato says. Initially, SIMAVI donated sh500m through WaterAid. SIMAVI is a Dutch NGO that funds safe drinking water projects for the poor.

CAN injected sh219m into the project. Kato says they also receive sh41m from a 12-year-old boy, Ryan Well, from the US, who raises money through washing cars. “The foundation has also received sh65m from Global Giving in the US for building ECOSAN toilets.

After each of the latrines is constructed; it is handed over to the school which maintains he facilities. Kato says in 1998, they realized it was crucial to involve children in the maintenance of the facilities since they are the ones using them. They clean and plant flowers around the water sources.

According to Diana Namuddu, the community mobiliser, children are the ambassadors of change; they help in the building and maintaining of the tanks and latrines. “We teach them about the safe water chain and sanitation at school and back at homes.We select two boys and two girls in each school to represent other children on the community water committees.

“Apart from providing water, KDF monitors the level of hygiene in and around the classrooms and the entire
community,” says Namuddu. As a result, she says, diseases have decreased over the years.

Kato says KDF plans to roll out to districts like Kalangala, Sembabule and Mityana, which have already requested for their services. “But this is subject to the availability of funds,” he concludes.