Global Fund Round 9 Phase 2 HIV Project Rivers and Bayelsa States Update Report
2015 WASH Story Contest Final Report
1. 2015 Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International® WASH Story Contest:
Findings and Recommendations
Fallon Frappier and Tanya Witlen
Emory University Master’s in Development Practice
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International®
Bisate, Rwanda
Photo by Gabriel James Andrle, 2015
EMORY University
Master’s in Development Practice
2. 1
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................3
Project Overview...........................................................................................................................................3
Methods........................................................................................................................................................4
Storytelling in Research ............................................................................................................................4
2015 Project Logistics ...............................................................................................................................5
Findings.........................................................................................................................................................6
Findings on WASH-Related Knowledge ....................................................................................................6
Findings on WASH-Related Attitudes .......................................................................................................9
Findings on WASH-Related Practices......................................................................................................12
Project Challenges and Recommendations for the Future.........................................................................14
Challenges...............................................................................................................................................14
Recommendations..................................................................................................................................15
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................15
Works Cited.................................................................................................................................................17
Appendix .....................................................................................................................................................19
TABLE OF CONTENTS
s
3. 2
Photo by Gabriel James Andrle, 2015
Summary of Abbreviations
s
CGSW………………….. Emory University’s Center for Global Safe Water, Rollins School of Public Health
DFGFI…………………………………………………………………………………..Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
GHI…………………………………Emory University’s Global Health Institute, Rollins School of Public Health
MDP……………………………………………………………... Emory University’s Master of Development Practice
RWF …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Rwandan Francs
VNP………………………………………………………………………………………………………..… Volcanoes National Park
WASH…………………………………………………………………………………………….. Water, sanitation, and hygiene
4. 3
Introduction
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) works to conserve the critically endangered gorilla
population of the Virunga Mountains under the adage, “Helping people. Saving gorillas.” Much of this
work is centered in Bisate, Rwanda, a community situated at the foothills of the Virunga Mountains and
just outside Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park (VNP).
It has long been understood that cross-contamination of disease is common between gorillas and
humans due to the species’ genetic similarities (1). Based on this understanding, DFGFI subscribes to
the belief that humans and gorillas cohabitate one ecosystem, and one species cannot thrive without
the other. Therefore, DFGFI works to improve human livelihoods to enhance their gorilla conservation
efforts.
Government regulations prohibit citizens from entering VNP boundaries in order to protect the fragile
ecosystem, but surveys show that factors such as low economic status and lack of resources such as
water, firewood, and food prompt many Bisate community members to enter the park to obtain basic
necessities (2). Illegal activity within VNP boundaries including setting snares and traps and traditional
methods of honey production that pose a risk for forest fires, are also motivated by a lack of alternative
forms of income generation (ibid.). DFGFI considers economic poverty as the number one threat to
gorilla conservation. Rather than advocate for unrealistic austerity measures to further prevent access
to VNP, DFGFI works to instill community pride in their mountain gorilla neighbors and to catalyze
economic development through education and health initiatives. The WASH Story Contest aims to
contribute this piece of DFGFI’s mission in Bisate.
Project Overview
Water-, sanitation-, and hygiene- (WASH) related health concerns continue to afflict Bisate community
members’ health and hinder economic development in the area. As of 2013, 35% of Bisate’s population
lacked access to a safe and reliable drinking water source, and improved sanitation facilities were not
available for 45% of the population (3). A team of Emory Global Health Institute (GHI) students also
found that 53% of Bisate’s population was suffering from parasitic worms in the summer of
2013. WASH-related illness can cause reduction in school attendance in children, decrease economic
productivity and income generation, and increased morbidity and mortality if gastrointestinal ailments
go untreated. These startling statistics acted as an impetus for the inception of the WASH Story
Contest.
Piloted in Bisate during the Summer of 2014, the WASH Story Contest strives to elucidate current WASH
knowledge, attitudes, and practices among Bisate’s schoolchildren in a non-intrusive, culturally-relevant,
and creative manner. The WASH Story Contest solicits fictional stories about WASH-related issues from
its target research group. Schoolchildren are prompted to partake in a voluntary annual contest in the
hopes that their stories will be selected as winners. Winning submissions earn prizes and will ultimately
be adapted to short educational radio pieces to be broadcast to Bisate and surrounding towns--
potentially reaching an audience of over 300,000 listeners--once project funding is sufficient . These
radio pieces will be generated to augment conversation and education about WASH-related issues in the
region.
5. 4
Since the project began in 2014, it has witnessed great success. The contest scaled up by 68%, receiving
89 story submissions in 2015 from 53 submissions in 2014, in its second year of implementation. Over
500 students in Bisate’s primary and secondary schools were invited to compete in 2015, and project
funds supplied each prospective participant with a pen and paper as to avoid any possible financial
barriers to submitting a story.
The second iteration of the project saw several modifications to accommodate lessons learned from the
pilot year, including significant revision of contest guidelines. Teacher and student guidelines were both
reworded and reformatted from the project’s pilot year to improve clarity of expectations and enhance
submission quality. Student guidelines were made more visually appealing for school children, and the
syntax was streamlined for student and teacher clarity. Pages xiii and xiv of the Appendix contain the
English versions of the 2015 WASH Story Contest student and teacher guidelines. These improved
guidelines, along with more explicit verbal instructions for teachers’ role in the contest, contributed to a
higher quality pool of submissions in 2015 compared to 2014. Many 2014 submissions were factual
essays while 2015 participants more often submitted entries in the desired format – a fictional story
with a compelling plot that could be converted into an educational radio piece.
Despite a few adaptations to the methods, the WASH Story Contest’s objectives remain the
same. These objectives are threefold:
To better understand knowledge, attitudes, and practices surrounding water, sanitation, and
hygiene among youth in Bisate, Rwanda.
To draw on local community knowledge to generate highly impactful and culturally-relevant
ways of communicating WASH-related topics to the public.
To generate discussion around WASH-related issues to determine needs and viable paths to
improving health in Bisate.
Methods
Storytelling in Research
Storytelling is a burgeoning method of qualitative research. Its utility as a tool for research lies in
storytelling’s abilities to transcend traditional power dynamics between researcher and subject and to
capture a more holistic understanding of local experiences because people live in accordance with the
stories that they tell (4). A story’s insight is not limited to factual details alone, but also includes the
interpretation of its plot (5). Enriching facts with meaning, personality, and emotion, allows storytellers
to provide richer context, leading to deeper understanding of cultures and individuals (6). Stories can
elucidate behaviors, actions, and concerns related to particular communities because they from a
culturally-relevant arsenal of plots to relay normative values of communities.
Storytelling encourages children’s natural creative proclivity to embellish facts and create their own
narratives, making it particularly useful in research with this cohort (7). This method of research can
provide greater insight into children’s engagement with the research topic at hand because it reduces
restrictions on factual accuracy and intentionally removes rigid inequalities of power between
researcher and research subjects (8).
6. 5
It is under these principles that Global Dialogues – the contest from which the WASH Story Contest was
modeled – was formed. Global Dialogues tasks child contestants with writing about culturally taboo
topics. Through analysis of the stories, Global Dialogues better understands the topic-specific
knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of children and adolescents.
Storytelling also has the ability to lead to individual and organizational change. Because stories evoke
emotion, they lead to reflection. The plot encourages both storytellers and their audiences to consider
the reality presented. Reflection tends to lead to increased dialogue as audiences respond to stories by
telling stories of their own (5). These interactions facilitate greater understanding and empathy among
storytellers, which can contribute to future behavior change due to deeper understanding of the other.
The WASH Story Contest employs the storytelling method of research, on behalf of DFGFI, to inform
improved culturally-specific and need-based WASH services to the population of Bisate.
2015 Project Logistics
Five hundred students from Bisate’s primary and secondary schools were invited to partake in the 2015
WASH Story Contest. Guidelines (page xiii of the Appendix) and supplies were distributed to all Primary-
5, Primary-6, Secondary-2, and Secondary-5 students. Meetings with participating teachers were
arranged, and teacher guidelines (page xiv of the Appendix) were distributed to help assure the quality
of student submissions. Students were given three weeks to complete the assignment and return
stories to their teachers.
On the day of the students’ deadline, researchers collected all story submissions for
counting. Researchers then organized, at random, stories into groups of ten. However, primary school
students’ stories were never mixed with secondary school students’ stories. Each teacher willing to
participate as a jury member was given a stack of ten papers to read and mark. Researchers and jurors
collectively negotiated rates for appropriate monetary compensation to be offered for marking each
stack of ten papers. Rates ranged from 5,000 Rwandan Francs (RWF) for primary school jurors to 7,000
RWF for secondary school jurors. Teachers who agreed to mark papers were given an additional set of
juror guidelines (page xv of the Appendix) to help select the two best stories among their pile of ten
submissions. These two stories in each stack of ten would become finalists in the 2015 WASH Story
Contest. Jurors had one week to complete grading, and compensation was delivered when all story
submissions were returned to researchers.
The stories that were determined to be finalists were later translated from Kinyarwanda to English using
a professional translator. Eighteen translated finalist stories were used for analysis by the WASH Story
Contest research team. It is from these eighteen stories – ten from primary and eight from secondary –
that the findings outlined in this report are drawn. Analysis included qualitative coding of stories based
on a set of twenty-two predefined codes. These codes and their definitions can be referenced on page
iv of the Appendix.
Four winners– two from primary school and two from secondary school--were selected by the WASH
Story Contest research team whose judging scheme considered both the quality of a story’s plot
development and its relevance to WASH practices in Bisate. The team returned to Bisate schools to
distribute prizes. Each winning storytelling was awarded a pot to boil water, a jerrycan, a cup, soap,
school supplies, and one year of health insurance.
7. 6
Findings
Per the methods outlined, finalist stories of the 2015 WASH Story Contest were analyzed in an effort to
inform DFGFI’s Ecosystem Health and Education Program’s future work in Bisate. Stories indicate that
the students of Bisate schools display great knowledge of appropriate WASH behavior, which is
encouraging for all stakeholders engaged in this community. Characters in the stories also held certain
WASH-related attitudes and engaged WASH-related practices of note. Some of these findings are
outlined below.
Findings on WASH-Related Knowledge
Central to the WASH Story Contest is the belief that knowledge is the first step toward behavior
change. Relevant and consistent WASH education coupled with intentional dissemination of this
information can help perpetuate healthy WASH behaviors in any community. In general, the findings
from the 2015 WASH Story Contest demonstrated students’ learning of WASH topics, presumably from
school-based curricula, as follows:
Students are aware of specific threats from poor water conditions. Many students write of characters
falling ill to specific waterborne diseases. Cholera and diseases induced by parasitic worms, such as
ascariasis (caused by the parasitic roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides), are commonly-mentioned
ailments, and are diseases that account for a large percentage of mortality and morbidity in rural
Rwanda. Students also display a clear understanding of various ways water can become unsafe for
consumption. Authors incorporate details of water being contaminated due to pollution at the water
source (often from anthropogenic activities such as open defecation, farming, bathing, and washing),
poorly maintained jerrycans, poorly managed pumps and taps, and inadequate treatment of water at
the household level. Students’ portrayals of characters falling severely ill to waterborne diseases as a
direct result of untreated dirty water make it clear that Bisate students possess the knowledge to
adequately prevent such ailments.
Students understand the danger of adopting poor sanitation and hygiene practices. Many stories also
portray WASH-related illnesses that are caused by poor sanitation and hygiene. Students recognize the
importance of keeping latrines from overfilling, the dangers that open defecation poses to the entire
community and environment, and the value of bathing regularly. While student knowledge of sanitation
and hygiene appears to be abundant, authors fail to mention the necessity of wearing shoes. Wearing
shoes is particularly important in Bisate as there is a link between endemic rates of elephantiasis – a
condition in which a limb or other part of the body becomes grossly enlarged due to obstruction of the
lymphatic vessels – in this region of Rwanda as caused by overexposure to the high ferric content of the
volcanic soil in the area (9). The ubiquitous omission of this hygiene-related detail from story
submissions may indicate a gap in student knowledge and should be assessed further.
Students exhibit understanding of community health workers’ utility by including them in many of their
stories. More than half of the finalist story submissions incorporate community health workers as
seminal characters present at health clinics or holding informational town gatherings. Meetings are a
major source of WASH-specific knowledge dissemination within the communities of this year’s
stories. Most often, these meetings are led by community health workers and open to the general
public. Proper WASH-related behaviors such as drinking properly treated water and times when hand
washing is necessary are outlined in these fictional meetings.
8. 7
Several students’ stories mention characters’ belief that witchcraft is to blame for their waterborne
illnesses. Six of the eighteen stories analyzed in this year’s contest include details of
witchcraft. Characters’ beliefs in supernatural forces often end in their detriment. Characters who
blame witchcraft for their illnesses are often incredulous to medical advice from peers and only seek
medical attention after suffering severe health consequences or witnessing a death of a family
member. One author writes,
"Mutesi's family could not listen to any advice from neighbors because the former believed that
neighbors were behind sickness of their children."
Mutesi’s family suffers from the death of a child before his parents are willing to consult physicians
about the WASH-related illnesses that they face. It is clear that students regard modern medicine as the
best option for treatment of waterborne diseases based on the severity of consequences incurred by
characters who delay seeking medical advice due to their traditional beliefs. Another finalist writes,
"It was a misfortune that their parents did not take them to a health center that was near their home.
They instead went to consult witches because they believed their children had been poisoned. They
spent their wealth in vain because witches were not able to help them in any way."
While this author, among others, emphasizes that subscribing to beliefs in witchcraft can lead to wasted
financial resources and prolonged suffering from WASH-related diseases, the inclusion of traditional
beliefs in stories may indicate that some of Bisate’s population believes supernatural forces can
determine people’s health or misfortune. Further investigation on how to combat this belief without
discrediting those who subscribe to traditional beliefs could lead to improved health of the region.
Students recognize potential impacts of personal WASH practices on Bisate’s surrounding
ecosystem. All submissions that include drawings portray how anthropogenic WASH-related activities
can affect the surrounding ecosystem. Even when the topic is not mentioned verbally, students
illustrate scenes such as how effluent -- from open defecation, bathing, public urination, washing clothes
and other materials, and agricultural practices -- travels to and contaminates water sources downstream
of the point source.
9. 8
Figure 1. Though illustrations, this author shows the interconnectivity of the status of Bisate’s WASH-
related health concerns and their surrounding ecosystem. The author displays his knowledge that the
stream carries anthropogenic and naturally occurring pollutants and contaminants to downstream
users.
Nine of ten primary school finalist submissions explicitly discuss Bisate and its surrounding
ecosystem. This is encouraging for DFGFI’s work in Bisate and exhibits the primary school students’
knowledge about the impact their behavior has on the environment. Human impact on the
environment is a less pervasive theme among secondary students’ stories. Of the eight stories analyzed
from secondary school, only three make the connection between human actions and the ecosystem as a
whole. While this is still a substantial percentage of stories, it is important to note the room for
improvement among this older cohort of students for future conservation education programs planned
by DFGFI.
Students’ knowledge of the importance of insurance is unclear. While almost all stories include
characters who require treatment from the local health clinic, only one story describes the financial
repercussions of not being insured when seeking treatment for WASH-related illnesses. In low-resource
communities like Bisate, uninsured trips to the health clinic pose significant financial burden. Because
appropriate WASH behaviors are often dependent not only on knowledge, but also on adequate
monetary resources (e.g. to purchase soap, build latrines), the 2015 WASH Story Contest findings
indicate this is an area where further education could greatly benefit the community of Bisate.
Students of Bisate schools recognize the value of WASH education and sharing relevant knowledge. This
is perhaps the most encouraging finding from the 2015 WASH Story Contest and demonstrates the great
success of WASH-curricula in the Bisate schools. Student authors indicate that they value education
and recognize its potential to improve livelihoods and financial standing later in life. In one story, a child
is faced with a tough decision between attending secondary school or starting work on his family’s small
farm. His choice to attend school in Kigali causes his family to struggle financially. However, the child
learns life-saving information related to WASH in school. He is able to pass along his new knowledge to
10. 9
his family who formerly believed that witchcraft inflicted upon them by jealous neighbors caused their
illnesses. The author concluded his story with the protagonist powerfully declaring,
“Do you know what! If I had not had hygiene lessons at school, I would have died.”
Many other authors also stress the importance of disseminating knowledge acquired in school or at a
community meeting to family and fellow community members. This finding is reassuring for the lifecycle
of the WASH Story Contest. As WASH curricula transform and expand to suit Bisate’s evolving needs,
future cycles of analysis of WASH stories can demonstrate how student knowledge reflects curricula
modification. According to student stories, children will take their improved knowledge to friends and
family to spread WASH-related information throughout the Bisate community.
Findings on WASH-Related Attitudes
Students regard good WASH practices as seminal for a healthy and happy life. Story details and tone
reflect an overall positive attitude towards healthy WASH-related behavior, which indicates hope for
continued progress in WASH and continuously-improving health in the Bisate region. Some important
attitudes portrayed by characters in the stories include:
Gender plays a role in how characters are treated and whose advice is taken or disregarded. Advice
from other characters is a major source of WASH-related behavior modification within stories. Advice is
offered by peers, family members, and professionals in each of the 2015 finalist stories. The breakdown
of advice given by males and females in stories offers an interesting perspective on gender roles in
Bisate. The percent of time that advice is taken from males and females is comparable at 70% of the
time and 67% of the time, respectively. However, advice offered by females is taken just six times
throughout all stories. Advice offered by male counterparts is taken twenty-three times throughout
finalist story submissions. Eighty percent of all advice offered in this year’s story submissions comes
from male characters.
Gender also plays a role in how characters who offer the advice are treated by others. In instances
when male advice is not taken, the advisor is simply ignored. On the other hand, there are several
stories which include details of misogynistic treatment of female advisors. Three secondary school
authors write of female characters who face verbal abuse and blame. One student writes of a husband
who discourages his wife from trying to inform a neighbor about mitigating health afflictions caused by
poor WASH practices. The husband shouts,
“Keep quiet ! You do not have a word to utter! Women's advices only lead to ruin!"
Another story presents a man, Ntibindea, who does not tend to the family’s latrine. He neglects to
empty the pit when it is full, compromising his family’s sanitation practices. When Ntibindea’s child,
Kaboyi, falls ill to diarrheal disease, Kaboyi asks his father to take him to the hospital. Ntibindea replies
by refusing to take his child to seek care and places the onus of Kaboyi’s illness on his wife. Ntibindea
utters,
“I am not the cause of your sickness. It’s up to your mother to take you to the hospital because she
doesn’t give you clean water for drinking. That disease, I think it is caused by polluted water which may
be cleaned by your mother. But your mother didn’t boil it so your mother will take you to the hospital.”
11. 10
This example indicates that there may be a prevalence of mistreatment of women and unequal
distribution of domestic duties among Bisate families. These findings indicate an opportunity for DFGFI
to incorporate a gender component into future iterations of curricula implemented in Bisate schools.
Poor WASH practices are seen as shameful and detrimental to individual and community well-being. In
several examples, students’ stories include characters who are shamed or reprimanded for not
practicing appropriate sanitation or hygiene behaviors. In one story, the author develops a character
who is arrested for “looking like a street person” due to his insufficient personal hygiene
maintenance. In another story, a character is harshly disciplined and embarrassed by his teachers for
failing to bathe regularly. Several illustrations in the 2015 submission pool depict characters being
chased or yelled at during acts of open defecation, particularly when the act is being done near a
stream.
Students see tourism and tourist-generated income as beneficial to Bisate’s development. In any
instance that tourism is mentioned in a story, the author also includes details about how the region’s
development benefits as a direct result. Fifty percent of primary school finalist stories include details
about tourism and development, and 25% of secondary school finalists include this topic. While both
figures are substantial, the drastic difference in percent of students who include the benefit of tourism-
generated income to the area may be from increased exposure to curricula formally instituted by DFGFI
in the Bisate primary school. Drawings and character dialogue indicate positive attitudes towards
tourism in the region.
Figure2.a This picture depicts local pride of the mountain gorillas and the preserved beauty of VNP. In
the story, the guide states, "Rwandans are lucky because of these gorillas, which attract tourists. Guides
and trackers have employment. Tourists leave dollars in our country. This brings us many things,
especially to people from Kinigi.” The tourist from the United States is impressed by her experience in
Rwanda and says, “I will take a photo of this gorilla because I want to show my fellow American’s
beautiful Rwanda. I will encourage my fellow Americans to come visit them too.
12. 11
Figure 2.b The same author illustrates Bisate after increased tourist traffic to the region. The woman in
the drawing marvels, “I can now fetch safe water. There are good roads, hotels, schools, and
hospitals. All these things are coming from those mountain gorillas, which bring dollars.”
The author of the story that includes drawings from Figure 2 has either witnessed or has been taught
the potential financial benefit to the region by preserving the protected ecosystem, which the critically
endangered mountain gorillas inhabit. The students whose work is featured above, and several of his or
her classmates attribute the positive growth and development of Bisate -- including improved WASH
access and infrastructure -- almost solely to tourism-generated income to Rwanda due to continued
environmental protection of VNP and the mountain gorillas. Students exhibiting a positive attitude
towards preserving the species indicate willingness to mitigate behaviors that have long compromised
the health of gorillas. Another primary student explicitly mentions that gorillas bring tourism to
Rwanda, and tourists increase the country’s national income.
13. 12
Figure 3. In this student’s illustrations, Bisate is depicted as reaching its Vision 2020 goals, and it is a
very modern city with amenities such as paved roads, hotels, multistory buildings, hospitals, and a new
water pump labeled “Safe Water”. One character marvels at the future of the town exclaiming, “They
are no longer fetching water from inside [Volcanoes National Park]. Tourism and development is a very
good gift.”
Findings on WASH-Related Practices
By better understanding the students of Bisate’s knowledge and attitudes, their WASH-related practices
can begin to come into focus. While the storytelling method of research does not explicitly ask authors
to write factual accounts detailing insights into their lives, the WASH Story Contest operates on the
understanding that students write what they know. Authors of finalist submissions wrote of characters
who generally exhibit appropriate WASH behaviors. Prosperous story characters boil or chemically treat
their water at the household level, maintain jerrycans, wash their hands, use toilets or latrines, and seek
medical attention at clinics in the event that they fall ill to WASH-related diseases. Practices of Bisate
children and community members can be inferred from fictional depictions of WASH-related behaviors,
but follow-up research would be needed to verify if students apply these same behaviors in their own
lives. Some useful insights from these submissions on WASH-related practices follow.
14. 13
Characters in stories always follow the advice of a professional (e.g. doctor, nurse, teacher, or
community health worker). During analysis of finalist stories, the code labeled “professional advice
declined” was the only one of twenty-three predetermined codes not used. Advice is a recurring theme
throughout stories. Peers, family, friends, and professionals all offer advice throughout story
submissions. Professional advice is always accepted, which demonstrates students’ confidence in the
professional opinions of teachers, doctors, nurses, and community health workers. Professional advice
often contends directly with advice from characters who hold more traditional beliefs in
witchcraft. However, students unanimously depict characters who ultimately accept and endorse the
value of professional advice in treatment of WASH-related illnesses.
Characters who lack access to reliable water sources continue to seek methods of procurement inside
the forest. Some stories wrote of a dearth of water pumps in the area, which encouraged characters to
fetch water inside VNP or at an unsanitary source nearer to their homes than the closest pump. While
this may initially seem like a disheartening finding, all students demonstrate a clear understanding that
this practice did not qualify as an appropriate WASH-behavior. Many stories in which access is an issue
for its characters also write of celebrations for new or updated WASH-infrastructure. Augmented
infrastructure allows characters to discontinue water collection from Susa or other areas of VNP. This
demonstrates a desire to follow government instated protocol and adapt appropriate WASH behaviors if
possible.
Stories link lack of access to improved WASH-related facilities to open defecation. In several instances
students wrote about characters not being able to carry out satisfactory WASH practices due to financial
struggles of the individual or of the region. Many characters who do not have access to improved
sanitation facilities practice open defecation, posing health risks to themselves and the rest of their
communities. Seventy percent of stories that depict characters who lack access to adequate WASH
resources and facilities also write of open defection. Characters detailed lacking resources and
monetary funds as obstacles to improving personal WASH-related behaviors. This was particularly
problematic when characters were publicly shamed for open defecation in the stories. As was the case
with characters who collect water from inside the forest, authors demonstrate that they are aware of
appropriate WASH behavior, but that their characters often did not have another choice. In one story in
which two men are arguing about one man’s act of open defecation, the perpetrator of the act finally
admits,
“See I don’t even have food, and you are talking about toilets!”
This character was unable to provide for himself nutritionally, and admits that proper hygiene is not his
first concern. However, later in the story, this character realizes that he may become more prosperous
if he stops falling ill to WASH-related diseases, and begins to prioritize his personal hygiene practices in
his everyday life.
Characters in stories often alter WASH-related behavior, but only after experiencing negative
consequences. Many students develop plots in which characters initially dismiss advice to change their
WASH-related behaviors. These characters change their ways only after incurring personal detrimental
health consequences or witnessing friends or family fall ill due to inappropriate WASH behaviors. This
may reveal that people of Bisate are incredulous to possible negative outcomes of poor WASH-related
behaviors until first-hand experience. Incorporating relevant statistics or case studies may improve the
reactions and preventative measures taken by those subjected to DFGFI’s WASH curricula.
15. 14
Project Challenges and Recommendations for the Future
Challenges
Despite being in the second year of the project’s lifecycle, the 2015 WASH Story Contest was not
immune to its fair share of challenges and growing pains. The most significant challenge came from
navigating the recently-updated approval process for foreign research projects conducted in
Rwanda. Newly-regimented bureaucratic processes prevented the WASH Story Contest from gaining
approval for the duration of the research team’s stay in Rwanda. Due to lack of approval, the team was
unable to travel to Bisate on a regular basis or have direct contact with school children or community
members. The team had to be accompanied by a DFGFI employee at all times during any visit. The
project budget was also compromised by this requirement as transportation costs were starkly
augmented. Because the team had to work around the understandably-busy DFGFI employees
schedules, they lacked scheduling flexibility that comes with more autonomous travel.
Relationship building and community outreach also suffered as a result of delayed permission
acquisition. Much of the success from the pilot project in 2014 came from extended and more regular
presence of the research team in Bisate schools and in the Bisate community. Becoming a familiar face
to the supporting teachers and staff of Bisate schools was invaluable to forge strong relationships and
garner support of the WASH Story Contest in 2014.
The 2015 iteration of the project lacked set times for check-ins or any form of researcher supervision
during the writing process. Therefore, it is unclear how well teachers understood the guidelines for
student participation. Based on the low percent of student submissions received compared to how
many students were invited to participate (roughly 18%), the research team questioned if all Primary-5,
Primary-6, Secondary-2, and Secondary-5 students were invited to participate. Perhaps, without further
clarification, teachers only invited a select group of students to partake in this year’s contest. Checking
in with teachers would have acted as useful reminders for them to encourage all of their students to
write stories. Furthermore, for better or worse, the excitement of having outsiders visit their school
may have inspired increased participation from Bisate students.
The plan to conduct interviews with Bisate community members and 2014 contest alum were stymied
by the lack of formal permission of the project. Student interviews would have allowed further analysis
on 2014 findings to enhance inferences made from story contest submissions. Soliciting interviews from
older community members would have offered a more diverse perspective on WASH in Bisate. The
elders would have been able to offer insight about what has changed in their lifetime regarding WASH
infrastructure development, and the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of WASH in the region.
The current project budget, especially with extenuating circumstances, is insufficient to conduct
translation of all finalists. The number of translated stories was limited by funds budgeted for the costly
expense. Furthermore, the anticipated costs of transforming student stories into radio pieces far
exceeds the current project budget. This would include the costs of hiring someone from a media group
to adapt the story to a radio-appropriate piece, travel to and from Kigali where the recording equipment
will be, paid airtime, studio costs, actors’ compensation, and more.
16. 15
Recommendations
While many of the challenges of the 2015 iteration of the WASH Story Contest were unforeseen, if the
project is to continue they will need to be addressed before the next steps. Clearly, the issue of
permissions is one that needs to be resolved. Now that the permissions process is known it would be
beneficial to set up an agreement between DFGFI and the proper Rwandan authorities for a multi-year
and multi-phased project. This would dramatically cut down on time spent following bureaucratic
protocol (several months for each project hoping to be approved). The other challenge that could most
positively impact the project if resolved is that of budget. Perhaps a DFGFI donor would be interested in
sponsoring the whole project for a year or two. Securing the funds for a modest, yet ideal, budget
ahead of starting the next phases would lead to much better data to analyze and thus a greater positive
effect on the Bisate population.
If permissions are cleared and time at the Bisate schools by project implementers is regular, the project
could benefit from stronger community connections. If established, these relationships could lead to a
wealth of knowledge that the WASH Story Contest in its present state is missing. Interviewing elders in
Bisate would richly improve data as it would let researchers compare current knowledge of students to
those of elderly -- learning if and how their communities’ WASH knowledge, attitudes, and practices
have changed over the years. It would also be interesting to know how their own knowledge, attitudes,
and practices have evolved and what information led to this change (e.g. community health workers’
meetings, their children/grandchildren’s own WASH curricula). A community mapping exercise based
on interviews that outlines perceived places of clean water, dirty water, sites of open defecation, etc.
would be an informative tool for improving WASH curricula in the Bisate schools and targeting areas for
improvement in Bisate. While it is not the current format, this phase of the project especially -- and all
the the WASH Story Contest -- could benefit from a Rwandan executing it. Not only would
communication be easier, a Rwandan would know better about certain cultural shifts, terms, etc unique
to Bisate.
Conclusion
The recommendations above are based on the assumption that the WASH Story Contest will continue;
however, if the WASH Story Contest will no longer be implemented, there is still knowledge that should
be disseminated to the Bisate community - especially the schools that participated in the 2015
iteration. As mentioned in the findings section of this report, there were several gaps in knowledge
found during analysis that should be addressed by supplementing the Bisate school’s WASH
curricula. These include, but are not limited to:
Emphasising the importance of wearing shoes to prevent elephantiasis
Addressing witchcraft as a barrier to change and improved health
Incorporating a gender component into future iterations of curricula implemented in Bisate
schools
Being careful not to shame or embarrass children of families who lack resources to maintain
proper hygiene practices
Increasing awareness of health insurance deadlines, income-based subsidies, and general
benefits to having health insurance.
17. 16
Lastly, it is important to note that key phrases and concepts were repeated across many students’
submissions almost word for word. Appearing in so many different students’ stories could imply that
these key pieces of information are present in their curricula and knowledge of this information has
reached a saturation point. This could mean that the Bisate schools’ WASH curricula is ready for an
update that furthers their students’ education to include some more complex concepts.
18. 17
1. Ködgen, S. Kühl H, N'Goran PK, Walsh PD, Schenk S, Ernst N, Biek R, Formenty P, Mätz-Rensing
K,Schweiger B, Junglen S, Ellerbrok H, Nitsche A, Briese T, Lipkin WI, Pauli G Boesch C, Leendertz
FH. “Pandemic human viruses cause decline of endangered great apes.” Current Biology; 26 Feb
2008; Volume 18, Chapter 4: pp 260-4. Robert Koch Institute. Accessed 1 Jul 2015 from
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18222690>.
2. Bush, Glenn K., Mireille Ikirezi, Giuseppe Daconto, Maryke Gray, and Katie Fawcett. “Assessing
impacts from community conservation interventions around Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda.”
Rwanda Environment Management Authority, DFGFI, Karisoke Research Center, CARE
International, Rwanda, International Gorilla Conservation Program. 2010. Accessed 20 Jun 2014
from <http://www.rema.gov.rw/~remagov/rema_doc/pab/VNP_Socio-
Economic%20Study_%20FINAL.pdf>.
3. Berendes, David, Jade Carboy, Aaron Druck, Deema Elchoufi, Annamarie Hajuk, and Antia
Kambhampati. “Baseline Assessment of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, Infectious Diseases,
Community Demographics, and Livelihood in the Bisate Catchment Area, Rwanda.” DFGFI,
Karisoke Research Center and Emory GHI. Sep 2013. Accessed 20 Jun 2014 from
<http://globalhealth.emory.edu/what/student_programs/fs_awards_program/2013_wash_and_i
d_rwanda.html>.
4. Polletta, Francesca, Pang Ching Bobby Chen, Beth Gharrity Gardner, and Alice Motes. “The
Sociology of Storytelling.” Annual Review of Sociology; 20 Apr 2011, Vol 37: 109-130. Accessed 1
Apr 2015 from <http://faculty.sites.uci.edu/polletta/files/2011/03/Polletta-et-al-ARS-Sociology-
of-Storytelling.pdf>.
WORKS CITED
s
19. 18
5. Gabriel, Yiannis and Dorothy S. Griffiths. “Stories in Organizational Research” Essential Guide to
Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research, pp 114-125. SAGE Publications; 2004, London.
Accessed 1 Apr 2015 from <https://smpncilebak2011.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/essential-
guide-to-qualitative-in-organizational-research.pdf>
6. Drumm, Michelle. “The role of personal storytelling in practice.” Institute for Research in the
Social Sciences, Dec 2013, Insight No 23. Accessed 1 Apr 2015 from < http://www.iriss.org.uk/
resources/role-personal-storytelling-practice>.
7. Greene, Sheila and Diane Hogan. Researching Children’s Experience: Approaches and Methods.
SAGE Publications, Ltd. London, 2005. Accessed 24 Mar 2015 from <https://books.google.
com/books?h=en&lr=&id=58SVJ9tCIQ0C&oi=fnd&pg=PA253&dq=creative+expression+in+partici
patory+research&ots=1MBzDuXm4r&sig=SlXmpXP1JwzuDgbeBHFoCWrVA60#v=onepage&q&f=fa
lse>.
8. Johnston, Joy. “Methods, Tools, and Instruments for Use with Children.” Young Lives: An
International Study of Childhood Poverty; Technical Note No. 11, Aug 2008. Accessed 24 Mar
2015 from < https://classes.emory.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2536562-dt-content-rid-
3334489_2/courses/SP15_585_MDP_04P/YoungLives_Tools%26Methods%281%29.pdf>
9. Price, E.W. “The association of endemic elephantiasis of the lower legs in East Africa with soil
derived from volcanic rocks.” Collections of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene;
Vol 70. No. 4, 1976. Department of Clinical Tropical Medicine, London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine. Accessed Jul 1 2015 from <file:///C:/Users/Tanya/Downloads/Price_1976_
Elephantiasis_and_volcanic_soils.pdf>.
21. 20
Code Title Definition
Familial/ peer advice taken A family member or fellow community member offers advice to improve
WASH-related behaviors, and the advice was taken by a story character
Familial/ peer advice declined A family member or fellow community member offers advice to improve
WASH-related behaviors, and the advice was not taken by a story character
Professional advice taken A doctor, nurse, social worker, teacher, or government official offers advice
to improve WASH-related behaviors, and the advice was taken by a story
character
Professional advice declined A doctor, nurse, social worker, teacher, or government official offers advice
to improve WASH-related behaviors, and the advice was not taken by a story
character
Female advice taken A female offers advice to improve WASH-related behaviors, and the advice
was taken by a story character
Female advice declined A female offers advice to improve WASH-related behaviors, and the advice
was not taken by a story character
Male advice taken A male offers advice to improve WASH-related behaviors, and the advice
was taken by a story character
Male advice declined A male offers advice to improve WASH-related behaviors, and the advice
was not taken by a story character
Open Defecation Humans urinating or eliminating fecal matter outside of latrines
Formal education Story characters are aware of proper WASH-related behaviors because of
education obtained in a school setting or a community meeting
Contamination at source Water is unsafe for consumption because its source is polluted
Contamination due to poor
treatment
Water is unsafe for consumption because it is not treated by the user. Ie: no
boiling, no chemical treatment, sterility of jerrycans is not maintained
Ecosystem Author acknowledges that humans are living in an ecosystem, which can
affect the quality of their water sources.
Author may mention that other animals can pollute the water by
urinating or defecating in it or by being washed in a drinking water
source.
Author may also acknowledge that humans can deleteriously affect
their surrounding environment, and that a stable ecosystem is important
for a variety of reason.
Authors can mention the financial gain associated with ecosystem
conservation.
Tourism Author discusses tourists/tourism in the area and the associated benefits
and consequences
Money Money is associated with lack of access to WASH-related infrastructure
Money is associated with the potential to affect change in the area
The cost of healthcare associated with WASH-related illness is
mentioned in the story
Development/ Updated
Infrastructure
Author mentions the need for future improvements in community
infrastructure
Definition of Codes
22. 21
Access Author discusses issues related to proximity or availability of WASH-related
infrastructure or supplies
Witchcraft/ Poison/ God Story character attributes illness and/ or cure to supernatural intervention
Misogyny Female character mistreated by male character
Female character marginalized
Meetings Formal community gatherings led by social worker or other figurehead to
disseminate WASH-related information
Susa Stream located near Bisate
Health Clinic Story characters taken to health clinic for treatment of WASH-related illness
31. 30
Dear Teacher,
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI) is coordinating its second year of the WASH Story
Contest with P5, P6, S2, and S5 students in Bisate!! DFGFI recognizes that gorillas and humans are all a part of
the same ecosystem, and cannot thrive without one another. A Bisate with cleaner water, better hygiene
practices, and improved sanitation will create a healthier environment for both gorillas and people. Your
students can help us better understand current WASH practices among people living in Bisate.
We would like to invite your students to participate in this contest by writing a fictional story about
water, sanitation, and hygiene issues. Story submissions will be judged by a panel, and prizes will be awarded
to the winners! One winner’s story will also be adapted into a radio piece to be broadcast to listeners all
around Bisate!
We hope you are excited to participate in this exciting contest. We have provided instructions to give
to each of your students. Please emphasize that student submissions should not be factual or scientific
essays. Instead, students should create a fictional narrative with characters, a plot, conflicts, and
resolutions. Submissions should also be limited to 5 pages. We have a limited supply of paper, so please
encourage students to use the front and back sides of the paper provided! Illustrations are welcome - especially
for younger students.
We will enlist the help of you and your colleagues to mark, what you consider to be, the best
submissions. Please note that all stories will be collected, but the ones you decide are best will be finalists and
passed along to the contest judges. If you so choose to participate in helping us rank submissions, we would like
to offer a modest financial compensation for your time. While the exact rate has not been determined, you will
earn money for each essay you mark.
In order to carry this project to completion before the July Holiday, story submissions need to be
marked and ready for submission to DFGFI no later than June 30, 2015. Please keep all of your students’ stories,
and we will collect them from you.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. This project could not happen without your
participation! You may reach Ildephonse Munyarugero, Ecosystem Health and Education Program Manager at
Karisoke Research Center, at mildeph@yahoo.fr with any questions you might have.
Regards,
Fallon Frappier and Tanya Witlen
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International WASH Team
KEY DATES:
June 4: Hand guidelines to each of your students so they can begin to write their stories
June 23: Students’ stories are due! Please collect them by this date
June 30: ALL submissions must be turned back to DGFGI workers to begin translation. We will collect
marked stories from you on this date
July 16: Winners announced, and prizes distributed.
Weekly: Please check in with students to see if they are making progress with their stories or if they
require assistance. Please remind them that this should be formatted as a story
Teacher Guidelines
s
32. 31
Juror Instructions for 2015 WASH Story Contest
Dear Juror,
Thank you for your participation in helping to judge the 2015 DFGFI WASH Story
Contest!
For the second year in a row, Primary and Secondary school students were asked to
think creatively and write stories addressing water, sanitation, and hygiene. We hope
that these stories will trigger constructive dialogue about water, sanitation, and hygiene
issues within Bisate in hopes they contribute to positive changes in attitudes or behavior
related to water, sanitation, and hygiene. In addition, winners of this year’s contest will
be awarded prizes, and some stories will be adapted into radio pieces to be broadcast
to all of Bisate. Your participation will help us determine this year’s winners!
Your participation is crucial to the success of this project, and we greatly appreciate
your efforts. As compensation for your time, you will earn _______ RWF for every 10 stories
you read, mark, and return to DFGFI staff.
Instructions:
Please pick the 2 best submissions within your stack of 10 WASH Contest stories.
While you read, please keep in mind the following:
Winning stories do not need to immediately be ready for radio
broadcasting. Winners will work with professionals to develop captivating ready-
for-radio scripts from their stories.
Grammar and spelling and minor errors in water, sanitation, and hygiene facts
should not affect your grading. Such errors can be corrected in the adaptation
process.
A great submission will:
Follow the format of a story (plot, conflict, resolution, characters, and setting)
Demonstrate the student’s deeper thinking about issues related to water,
sanitation, and hygiene
Be entertaining and creative!
Reminder: While you only need to indicate two of the best stories, please keep all
graded submissions. DFGFI staff will be in the teacher work room on Tuesday, June 30
to collect your marked stack and to give you your compensation.
Thank you for your continued support of and participation in this year’s WASH Story
Contest!
Juror Guidelines
s
