A Sanergy worker collects waste from a Fresh Life Toilet in the informal settlement of Mukuru in Nairobi
English
James of Alliant School in Mathare takes part in a debate about disease held under Sanergy’s WASH in Schools programme
The World Toilet Cup, held as part of an ‘edutainment’ day for school children staged by Sanergy in collaboration with WASH United
More than 8,000 people in the informal settlements of Mukuru and Mathare in Nairobi now have access to safe sanitation as a result of Sanergy’s work to construct Fresh Life Toilets, and 120 schools have teachers who have been trained to promote improved hygiene behaviours through the ‘WASH curriculum’.
A total of 198 Fresh Life Toilets have been built under the SWIFT programme and installed in Mukuru and Mathare. Previously, residents’ only options were ‘flying toilets’ (defecating into plastic bags, which are then tossed onto the street) and facilities which release untreated human waste into the environment and are therefore not suited to densely populated urban contexts.
High-quality, sustainable sanitation
Fresh Life Toilets are pre-fabricated and made of high-quality materials that are easy to keep clean and maintain. They have a small footprint, which enables them to be installed close to homes, even in cramped and overcrowded streets, and include essential features such as hand-washing stations. An estimated 30,000 people now have access to the hand-washing facilities at the new toilets.
Local residents purchase the toilets and are trained as Fresh Life Operators, keeping the facilities clean, generating local demand and collecting a small fee from users. Sanergy collects the waste from the toilets on a regular basis, replacing the filled cartridges with clean, empty ones, conducting check-ups on the functionality of the toilets and offering direct feedback to operators.
The sustainability of the model is further ensured by the fact that the waste from the toilets collected by Sanergy is converted into useful by-products such as organic fertiliser and renewable energy, for which there is high demand in East Africa.
Debates help children grasp hygiene concepts
Sanergy is providing WASH training for teachers at schools in Mukuru and Mathare as part of its WASH in Schools programme. Participating schools are holding inter-school debates on sanitation themes to help students understand and internalise hygiene concepts, such as the importance of hand-washing and using a toilet correctly at all times.
Debates involve pupils from a number of schools, and teachers who have completed the WASH in Schools ‘training of trainers’ curriculum are on standby to clarify issues if necessary.
‘When you see students debate some of the concepts they are taught versus what they see out in their communities, it means they are learning and this is an opportunity to demystify any myths about sanitation to ensure children have accurate information,’ says Rose Nyawira, who leads the WASH in Schools team.
‘Edutainment’ days with WASH United
Sanergy also provides ‘edutainment’ days for pupils in collaboration with WASH United: a combination of education and entertainment which involves interactive learning and creative ways of communicating hygiene messages such as the importance of hand-washing with soap.
Children may take part in giant board games, for example, rolling a dice and pretending to wash their hands at the right moments to find the ‘Hand-washing Champion’. They may also compete in the football-themed ‘World Toilet Cup’, which requires them to kick a brown ball into a ‘latrine’ (motto: ‘every poo needs a loo’).
Read more about an inter-school debate that took place in Mathare.
