1. Project description
   The poor Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) facilities in Schools that influences hygiene behavior is one of the main public health problems in Nepal. About 20% of government schools lack improved water and sanitation facilities. Moreover, about 3500 children die each year from water-borne diseases primarily due to inadequate WASH facilities.Therefore, Nawa Paila intends to improve the hand hygiene behavior and practice of children at the public schools located in Kathmandu, Nepal. The proposed activities included the installation of a portable handwashing station at the school and conducting an awareness campaign and a school event.Amid COVID-19 pandemic situation, the implementation of the project has been a challenge. As per the Government of Nepal’s notice, the schools are completely closed and there’s a limitation in mobility. To overcome the challenge, we had to change our project activities accordingly. That’s why the starting of the project was slow but we are determined to reach our project goal.
   Therefore, our revised project are as follows:
   a.Fabrication and installation of a portable handwashing station at Shree Balsudhar Secondary School, Gokarneswhor Municipality, Kathmandu, Nepal
   b. Conduction of online digital round table with WASH professionals to discuss the improvement in water, sanitation, and hygiene needed post-COVID-19
   c. Publishing education materials in the form of print (pamphlets, charts, posters) and videos to motivate better hygiene practice for children

 

1. Project Progress

• Visit to the School to finalize the site for installation of handwashing station

On July 14, 2020, Nawa Paila team leader Ms. Sheila Dangol along with the external supervisor Dr. Anish Ghimire visited the school for the initial inspection. Our target school “Shree Balsudhar Secondary School” is a public school situated at around 15 km northeast of Kathmandu. The site for installation of handwashing station was selected based on the source of water available and access for the school children and staff. One site was selected near the main entrance of the school so that it will prompt them to wash hands frequently and another near the toilet.

• Preliminary Meeting with the School Principal

On July 17, 2020, we conducted a preliminary meeting with the School Principal Mr. Binod Chandra Acharya at Nawa Paila office in New Baneshwor, Kathmandu. Before the in-person meeting, we had already informed Mr. Acharya our project plan. We discussed the further planning of the project and how we could implement it successfully. During the meeting, a formal letter for the initiation of the project was presented to Mr. Acharya by the president of Nawa Paila Mr. Bijay Thapa. Mr. Acharya was pleased and also expressed his willingness to support us for the successful implementation.

• Fabrication and installation of handwashing station

On August 13, 2020, we accomplished our first objective i.e. fabrication and installation of a handwashing station at the proposed school. The handwashing station can be operated by foot and is based on the guideline published by WaterAid. It consists of two sinks suitable for small school children as well as adults. Team Nawa Paila went to the school and successfully installed the handwashing station along with the provision of liquid soap. However, we are yet to fit the piping materials for the discharge of wastewater from the handwashing station. For now, we have put the bucket for the collection of wastewater from the sink.

• Content creation for pamphlets and poster

Based on the desk review and discussion, team Nawa Paila made contents for the pamphlets and poster focusing on hand hygiene behavior and drinking water quality. We also designed a poster with pictures on the same topic that would help the children to understand the importance of good hygiene practice and potable water. This project activity is related to our 3^rd objective i.e. creation of educational materials for school children.

 

3. Project Plan

Next, we plan to achieve our 3^rd and 4^th objective.

• We plan to conduct a digital round table on the topic “Strengthening sanitation and hygiene behavior in school post-COVID-19”. The main purpose of this online event is to discuss the possible strategies that the schools can adopt for its preparation to reopen the school post-COVID-19 especially in the area of sanitation and hygiene. This would be an opportunity for teachers and education professionals to learn from the experts/professionals in the WASH sector, realize the gap, and be motivated to implement it in their school.
• Based on the output of the discussion, we plan to produce an informative video. We have prepared a draft sketch for the video content.

The cases of COVID-19 are increasing in our area, Kathmandu, and some of the areas are sealed for the moment. If there are any changes in the activities and budget we will consult with KSHE and are hopeful to overcome the challenge.