SCHOOL WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE (WASH) CLUBS; INDICATORS OF AN ACTIVE CLUB, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR EFFECTIVE WASH IMPROVEMENT IN SCHOOLS.

1. SCHOOL WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE (WASH) CLUBS; INDICATORS
OF AN ACTIVE CLUB, ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR EFFECTIVE
WASH IMPROVEMENT IN SCHOOLS.
Presented by Dr. Joshua Zake (PhD)—Executive Director, Environmental Alert; Email: ed@envalert.org
/joszake@gmail.com
Co-Author—Mr. Kizito Charles—Program Assistant (ENR)
Joint follow-up training on improving WASH club performance in the 5 project Kampala
Capital City Authority Schools.
Grand global Hotel—31st October, 2019.

2. 1. Introduction
2. Objective of the meeting
3. Key outputs.
4. Background and context.
5. Status of WASH in schools
6. Why a WASH club
7. Definition WASH/ Sanitation/Hygiene club
8. Objectives of the School health club
9. Roles and responsibilities of the SHC
10. What approaches can the Club use
11. Indicators of an Active school sanitation club
12. About Environmental Alert

3. • EA conducted a joint reflection meeting with school
WASH clubs to understand their leadership dynamics and
bottlenecks for effective performance in each school. The
schools included Kansanga seed secondary, Mirembe
primary school, Nateete Muslim high school, Railway
children primary school and Uganda school for the deaf.
• From the reflection meeting, it was discovered that all
schools had just established school health clubs which
were inactive i.e. clubs no clear leadership structures, no
rules and regulations (constitution) and other did not have
clear roles and responsibilities (Kansanga seed
secondary).
1.0 INTRODUCTION
2.0 Objective of the meeting
The objective of the training is to equip the
school health clubs’ leadership with
knowledge and skills necessary for effective
performance.

4. 3.0 KEY EXPECTED OUTPUTS
i. Knowledge and skills on how to activate WASH clubs.
ii. School health clubs’ guidelines or rules and regulations for
each school developed.
iii. Leadership issues such as roles and responsibilities of the
school health clubs addressed.

5. 4.0 Background and context
• Environmental Alert in partnership with Water Aid is implementing project on Water Sanitation and Hygiene project titled
Sustainable WASH (SusWASH) project with funding from the H&M Foundation. The project is focusing on building and
strengthening systems that sustain WASH service provision in schools, healthcare facilities and communities; this project
also supports KCCA directorates for Health, Education and Strategic Planning to include elements that strengthen the
sustainability of WASH services within their current plans.
• In school setting; Sustainable school WASH services require that management structures and relevant institutions fulfil
their mandates. WASH infrastructure often falls into disrepair and becomes non-functional after only a couple of years.
Thus, WaterAid through its partners (Environmental Alert), will supports school WASH functionality, including
strengthening the capacity of School Management Committees to ensure that school WASH infrastructure is
maintained and that sufficient maintenance funds are available and strengthening school Health Clubs for a “double-
edged” intervention,
• At the community level, WaterAid partners (Environmental Alert) with KCCA, the private sector and local communities
for contextually appropriate solutions to strengthen accountability and feedback mechanisms that ensure that the voice of
marginalized groups is amplified and their WASH demands are being responded to. Also a campaign targeting Land
Lords and Tenants in selected slums will be run using innovative communication and regulatory approaches.

6. National statistics on sanitation and hygiene
According to the Water and Environment Sector performance report, 2019; WASH in schools is poor and
this is attributed to low levels of sensitization creation, higher enrollment rate into the schools among
others.
Thus need to initiate WASH clubs in specific tasks to monitor and execute sanitation prioritized
activities within the school
Source: Ministry of Water and Environment Sector Performance Report, 2019.

7. • Environmental Alert conducted a participatory assessment in the 5 schools (i.e. Mirembe
primary school, Kansanga seed secondary School, Railway primary school, Nateete Muslim
High school and Ntinda School for the deaf) on the status of WASH in schools.
• A total of 92 respondents were reached and interviewed from different schools (an
average of 18 pupils were interviewed per school) also Key informant interviews were
used to gather information from the key stakeholders i.e. school management committees.
• Special aids were used to ensure active and effective participation of pupils with
disability.
• The outstanding results from the assessment are presented as follows:
5.0 Status of WASH in schools - Key results from assessment by
Environmental Alert

8. 5.0 Key results from assessment by Environmental Alert
a. Considerable number of children in primary schools lacked adequate
knowledge on basic WASH. Some pupils had negative perceptions
against best WASH practices.
b. Considerable number of pupils/students (i.e. about 40%) either
suffered from water related diseases as shown in the pie chart
diarrhea, typhoid, cholera, and skin rashes )
c. Majority of the schools had just started School Health Clubs,
these are not yet vibrant and had not carried out WASH improvement
activities. Only Railway P/S had an active SHC. (It’s called the
Environment and Sanitation Club.)
Source: Tebandeke & Kamoga, (2019). A Rapid assessment report for WASH situation in the 5 targeted schools under the
SuSWASH project.
2%
20%
63%
1%
13%
1%
WASH RELATED DISEASES
Cholera
Diarrhea
None
skin rashes
Typhoid
Vomiting

9. 5.0 Key results from assessment by Environmental Alert
cont…
a. Increasing awareness amongst students/pupils to become
ambassadors of change in the communities;
b. Strengthening of school WASH clubs through educative
interactions to sensitize the rest of the school members on the
importance of WASH;
c. Popularising WASH messages everywhere within the
schools compounds or Toilets walls.
From the above findings it is important that a holistic approach is
taken to enhance WASH improvement in schools through:
Source: Tebandeke & Kamoga, (2019). A Rapid assessment report for WASH situation in the 5 targeted schools under the SuSWASH
project.

10. 6.0 Why
have a
School
health club
Children spend more than five (8) hours of each school day
in school.
This makes the school an important place through which their
health can be influenced positively. The health of children whilst
they are in school is important because they are in their
formidable age and poor health will impact negatively on growth
and development including the child’s ability to learn. Poor
health affects school attendance and completion rate. Good
health enhances academic performance in school. Thus the
concept of School health/Sanitation/WASH clubs is to provide
children an avenue to organize themselves to learn about
issues that affect their health which enables them make
informed decisions

11. 7.0 What is a Sanitation/Health/ WASH club
A School Sanitation/Health/WASH Club is a voluntary club formed and
managed by pupils/students and teachers to promote good Hygiene and
sanitation practices and behavior change in the school and the surrounding
communities.—IRC-guide For The Formation & Strengthening Of School Health Clubs
The focus of the club is primarily on the health of the pupils with emphasis
on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).

12. 8.0 What are the Objectives of the School health
club
The main objective of establishing a WASH Club is
a. To offer school-children opportunities to raise their awareness about and develop skills related
to water, hygiene, and sanitation through fun and practical activities. The WASH Club can
support them in changing conditions in their schools as well as in becoming agents of change in
hygiene and sanitation in their families and communities.
b. To increase pupils/students knowledge and understanding of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
issues
c. To promote a healthy school environment
d. To challenge children to take up leadership roles and responsibilities
USAID—Basic guide for school directors, teachers, students, parents and administrators, 2010

13. 9.0 Roles and responsibilities of the SHC
a. • Conducting annual and refresher training of pupils/students on
sanitation and hygiene—health parades/assembly
b. Hygiene education
c. Ensuring children drink safe water
d. Orienting pupils on how to use sanitation facilities and ensuring
children use latrines properly
e. Mobilizing pupils and parents to provide anal cleaning materials or
water for hand washing facilities
f. Advocating for facilities for physically disadvantaged children
g. Mobilizing communities to participate in sanitation and hygiene
activities.
IRC-guide For The Formation & Strengthening Of School Health Clubs

14. 10. What approaches can the Club use?
a. Pupil/ students can hold sessions/exhibitions in schools and communities to promote
hygienic practices through:
b. Stories, poems, role plays, drama, debates
c. Letting other pupils know what is expected from them—during health parades
d. Conducting baseline of the school sanitation and hygiene practices and making
findings known to all
e. Progress recorded and shared
f. Out-reach to children within and out of schools
g. Writing on notice board news or articles on sanitation and hygiene
h. Senior female or male teacher together with club members holding reproductive
health talks
i. Nominating the smartest pupils/class/community of the term.
Source: IRC-guide For The Formation & Strengthening Of School Health Clubs

15. 11.0 Indicators of an Active school sanitation club
a. Club rules and regulations/guidelines
b. Hold termly school hygiene promotion activities—
school and community clean-ups, school
sanitation checks;
c. Active involvement of all school students/pupils in
sanitation activities branded with a club
banner/shirts.
d. Holding termly assessment meetings to give
feedback to the school management
e. Fully constituted club leadership committee.

16. Group work Guide and Tasks
*Each School will constitute a group to work on the group work tasks. The purpose is to generate content, which will be
integrated into the School WASH Club guide for each school.
**Each group will use interactive/participatory approaches (during reflection and or answering the questions in the following
themes) to ensure that each group member participates effectively:
A) About the School WASH Club
i) What is the name of the school WASH Club?
ii) What are the objectives of the WASH Club?
iii) What activities is the WASH club currently doing to deliver on the club’s objectives?
iv) Are these activities adequate towards achieving the WASH club objectives?
v) If not, what additional activities should be implemented?
B) Membership in the club
i) Who are the members of the club?
ii) What are the requirements/consideration for joining the WASH club?
iii) What are the roles/responsibilities of the WASH club members?
ENR CSO Secretariat C/o Environmental Alert

17. Group work Guide and Tasks
C) Leadership of the Club
i) What is the composition of the WASH Club Leadership committee?
ii) Should leaders of the School WASH leadership committee be elected?
iii) If yes, who elects the leaders?
iv) How should the elections be conducted?
v) What is the role and responsibility of each leader on the WASH leadership committee?
vi) For how long should leaders of elective positions on the WASH Club leadership committee hold these positions?
viii) How many terms are they eligible for re-election in these positions?
ix) Should School WASH clubs leadership committee hold regular meeting for planning, coordination & reporting on their
activities?
x) If yes, how often should these meetings be held?
ENR CSO Secretariat C/o Environmental Alert

18. Group work Guide and Tasks
D) Reporting & Monitoring of WASH Clubs activities
i) Should WASH Clubs prepare regular reports and minutes of their activities?
ii) If yes, how often should these reports & minutes be prepared?
iii) Who is responsible for the minutes and reports of the WASH club?
iv) Should the school WASH club conduct regular monitoring and evaluation of its activities?
v) If yes, how often should this be done?
vi) Who is responsible for overall monitoring and evaluation of the school WASH Club activities?
vii) How should the members of the School WASH leadership committee be involved in the regular monitoring and evaluation?
vii) How should the members by involved in the monitoring and evaluation of the school WASH activities?
ENR CSO Secretariat C/o Environmental Alert

19. About Environmental Alert
Environmental Alert was founded in 1988 and is officially registered
Non Government Organization with board. Thus, in 2018 – EA
made 30 years of contribution to food security and sustainable
environment and natural resources management in Uganda.
Environmental Alert is a 1st prize winner of the Energy globe
award for environmental sustainability- 2005 under the category,
earth.
Environmental Alert is a member of the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and a Member of The IUCN
National Committee for Uganda.
Environmental Alert envisions, ‘Resilient and dignified
communities, managing their environment and natural resources
sustainably.’
Environmental Alert’s mission is to, ‘Contribute to improved
livelihoods of vulnerable communities by Enhancing agricultural
productivity and sustainable natural resources management.
Further information about Environmental Alert is available at:
http://envalert.org/
Environmental Alert hosts Secretariat for following
networks:
a) The Network for Civil Society
Organizations in Environment & Natural
Resources Sector (ENR-CSO Network)
http://enr-cso.org/ ;
b) Uganda Forestry Working Group
http://ufwg.envalert.org/;
c) The Standards Development Group; and
d) Promoting Local Innovation in
ecologically oriented agriculture and
natural resources management
(PROLINNOVA-Uganda Network)
http://www.prolinnova.net/uganda.

20. Ernie Pyle once said
“If you go long enough without a bath, even the fleas
will leave you alone.”
Thank you for listening. For God and my County.