WASH in Schools Water, and Hygiene (WASH) is What is important for good health. Schools take simple, inexpensive steps to improve WASH WASH in facilities at their school, and healthy hygiene habits are taught, practised and CASE STUDY Schools? integrated into daily school routines.

Wash in Schools In this project Live & Learn worked with schools on a bottom-up approach that demonstrates the impact of WASH in Schools on improved learning and student well-being.

Live & Learn uses an adapted the UNICEF 3-Star Schools and Bottleneck Analysis approach. Improving health and education of Bottleneck analysis assumes that WASH in Schools problems can be conceptualized as a type of service delivery chain. The bottleneck is a point where services are restricted. Schools are children in Vanuatu provided with tools and skills to critically assess and act to improve their WASH services. The simplified bottom-up approach to collecting and analysing evidence for WASH at a school level implemented by L&L staff with partner schools lead to school WASH Committees establish plans to Live & Learn ran a successful four-year Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools improve toilets and hand-washing facilities in schools, improve teacher-led hygiene promotion in program in six urban schools, benefiting over 6000 students. The program was part of classes, improve peer-to-peer advocacy by students, strengthen engagement with local and national Ministries of Education. a broader program delivered with 18,000 students in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu with funding from the the Australian Government through the “Western Pacific Sanitation Marketing & Innovation Program” funded by the Civil Society WASH Fund. WASH in Schools works at different areas to promote bottom-up change

Achievement snapshot Enabling Schools: Teachers: Students: environment: The WinS program in Port Vila benefited 6,000 children and 200 staff across eight schools. In a short period of time, the “We are the first to encourage program achieved many positive outcomes: children to hands, use the Nationally recognised WASH policies created Trained and Improved health & rubbish bin, clean toilets so that & approved by supported with education through • All target schools have improved gender segregated everyone can use a school that is Ministry of Education WASH budgets funded resources to teach handwashing and clean every day. Every teacher can sanitation facilities and Training (MoET) Improved WASH good hygiene using toilets support to keep Vila North safe, behaviours • Schools have active WASH Committees, WASH Clubs clean so that every student can Hygiene education infrastructure Support for and student-led processes to keep ablution blocks come to school and not get sick.” and menstrual (drinking water, Improved facilitation menstruating girls clean Alice Aissav, Vila North Primary hygiene management toilets with lockable skills School Hygiene WASH club included in the doors, showers & WASH clubs play • Children wash hands with soap at critical times of the coordinator. national education handwashing stations) Teaching made active roles in day such as before eating and after using the toilet curriculum easier through more improving WASH WASH Committees attentive and well through direct action • Schools have ‘girls space’ with a dedicated bathroom National teacher established to oversee behaved students and peer-to-peer facility to support menstruating girls training curriculum WASH clubs and advocacy amended to include create WASH action • Half the schools integrated ‘girls talk’ sessions into hygiene education plans school schedules for menstrual hygiene management • Improved student behaviour is linked to WinS activities • Hygiene promotion is incorporated into the teacher Further Results in Port Vila training syllabus and the national curriculum

• All primary and secondary trainee teachers learn about The Live & Learn WASH in Schools program hygiene using fun and interactive techniques hygiene promotion worked with the Ministry of Education and with the support of WinS resources. Bottleneck Training (MoET) to identify schools most in analysis was conducted, action plans implemented need of improved WASH. Live & Learn met with and WASH budgets created. WASH Committees school principals and staff to explain the program supported the creation and running of student and seek their support. Schools formed WASH WASH Clubs that promote WASH duties to keep Committees and teachers were trained to teach school WASH facilities clean.

1 Children as change agents Culturally sensitive approaches to taboo topics

WASH in Schools hygiene promotion and WASH Before WinS, many girls would leave school Clubs have empowered students for peer-to-peer during the day when they started menstruating. education on WASH. Girls would often be absent from school for several days. Boys would often tease girls if they WASH Club monitors are rostered on every week had accidents during menstruation. and students are eager to see if their names are on the list. The monitors wear bibs and badges WinS resources and guidelines are now assisting to highlight their position and remind children to girls to understand and manage their menstrual wash their hands after using the toilet. They also cycle. School WASH Committees and teachers help monitor and clean the toilets. were trained in menstrual hygiene management Global days of celebration, such as World Toilet and provided with reusable sanitary pads from Day and Global Day, are now local micro enterprise Mamma’s Leaf. Schools included in school calendars. have built safe and private bathrooms. Elina Jaywelson Gilu shows a class captain’s report that includes reporting on WASH duties. Students are also taking the message of good Alice Aissav, Vila North Primary School Hygiene “I now understand how to help girls maximize hygiene home and influencing their parents in WASH Club coordinator, and members from the their attendance in schools through safer and providing hand washing facilities and improving school WASH Club showing their hand washing healthier measures to minimize segregation sanitation awareness. station with soap dispensers. of menstruating female students – measures such as creating girls’ space, emergency kits, drying areas and counselling for girls that are menstruating for the first time.” Samuel Taranaki, Hygiene Carnival Parade trainee teacher, Vanuatu.

Several schools now have ‘girls kits’ available that A colourful School Hygiene Carnival involving 500 contain soap and a towel, a change of clothes students from five schools was facilitated through and sanitary products, so girls can remain at the WinS Arts for Advocacy program to promote school and manage their period with dignity. Global Hand Washing Day and World Toilet Day. “If girls had an accident, they had to go home. Creative banners, costumes, songs and drama Now they have a ‘girls space’ where they can performances brought attention to the theme of clean-up and go back to class.” Elina Jaywelson “Clean Hands, Our Future”. Gilu, Principal, Vila North Primary School.

Big wins for WASH in Schools in the national curriculum Sustaining the benefits of Live & Learn worked with the CDU to incorporate using the UNICEF hygiene promotion into the national primary 3-star Approach WASH in Schools school curriculum. WASH is promoted across to WinS using a subject areas and the value of Live & Learn WinS WinS checklist resources such as Hands Up for Hygiene and Arts tool created by for Advocacy has resulted in their endorsement as Live & Learn. The WinS program promotes existing national With strong national teacher resources. and international standards which helps the support for WinS program integrate into the existing education through the MoET Live & Learn worked with the Vanuatu Teachers system, and WinS is included in the National and the inclusion of “The curriculum unit have been producing a lot Training Institute (VITE) to incorporate hygiene hygiene promotion in of materials but we lack resources on WASH, Health Plan 2011-2020. Live & Learn has formed promotion into the teachers’ training syllabus. effective relationships with many enabling the national curriculum therefore we are thankful to Live & Learn for All trainee teachers (primary and secondary) now and teacher training actors, such as the Provincial Sanitation Working assisting with the resources that we have been receive mandatory hygiene promotion training, syllabus, the future is bright distributing to schools. The resources are already and are also offered a WASH elective run by Live Group (SWG), the Ministry of Health and the for WinS in Vanuatu. Live & helping teachers promote good WASH practices & Learn. Sixty student teachers have already MoET, including their Curriculum Development Learn continues to work with partner donors not only in the schools but also in homes where benefited from the hygiene training. Unit (CDU). Other stakeholders engaged to build on the achievements of the WASH in children take their knowledges home and include the Local Education Group (LEG), Child Schools work in Vanuatu. teach parents.” George, National Curriculum “This elective has helped me develop more skills Protection Working Group and Education Coordinator, National Curriculum Development and knowledge in developing strategies to help Cluster Group. Unit, Vanuatu. students adopt healthier habits to live and grow healthy.” Julius Eldads, Trainee teacher, Vanuatu. Through advocacy from Live & Learn, WASH is Standards for a WASH program have also been now one of the fifteen quality school standards. created for national Early Childhood Care FOR MORE INFORMATION: School Improvement Officers (SIOs) now monitor Education (ECCE). WASH on school visits. The SIOs rate schools www.livelearn.org • [email protected] 2