Students of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) Model Primary School and Township Primary School, Ovom, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, excited to get Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Infrastructure in their school.
To commemorate the 2018 World Water Day Celebration, the Foundation partnered with Rotary Clubs of Districts 9141 and 9142 of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State and Procter & Gamble (P&G) International on March 22, 2018, for a public enlightenment event hosted at the Universal Primary Education (UPE) Model Primary School and Township Primary School, Ovom, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The event raised awareness on the issues and solutions to safe and sustainable water among local community and government stakeholders in the Niger Delta and inspired action in the adoption of practices and models that meet globally accepted standards for sustainable access to water.
At the event which was attended by four State Commissioners in Bayelsa, high level state government dignitaries, Rotary Clubs, Bayelsa State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), traditional rulers, students, and teachers from the local community, a 24-room toilet facility and central water supply systems were handed over to both schools. This is part of a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools project which is a collaboration between five partners – Procter & Gamble (P&G), Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG), H2O for Life, Rotary Clubs of Districts 9141 and 9142, and us – to bring safe drinking water, proper sanitation, and hygiene education to 30 schools in the Niger Delta (Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Edo States).
Teslim Giwa, PIND’s Appropriate Technology Enabled Development (ATED) Program Manager, explained why we are partnering with these organizations to facilitate the deployment of water, Sanitation and Hygiene infrastructure in schools.
The collaboration with these organizations through our WASH-in-Schools project led to the provision of water and sanitation facilities of these schools today. The WASH-in-schools intervention is to provide safe and clean drinking water facilities within premises of like this to school children within the ages of 3 and 12 for 30 schools in the Niger Delta. PIND recognizes the critical link between water, sanitation and hygiene and school attendance. PIND understands that systemic change needs to happen. So we see the water and sanitation infrastructure as hardware. There is a software component which is the hygiene promotion. Over the next three months, we will still be involved in the process.’
The Executive Secretary of the Bayelsa State universal Basic Education Board, Comrade Walton Liverpool, urged various stakeholders to join forces with government to ensure the infrastructure are maintained.
‘Education is the responsibility of all. It is not for government alone. We are very much impressed with what has done been here today. We can do so many good things in our schools but one thing that is a problem is our maintenance culture. We don’t have a maintenance culture. The youth, the adults have a role to play in the things that we are supplying to schools. If there is not a maintenance culture, there will be no development.’
This sentiment was reiterated by the Commissioners of Water Resources, Health, Education and Information as they expressed their gratitude for the project. The Commissioner of Education in Bayelsa State, Mr. Jonathan Ebuebite, went further to explain why the project is important, especially for female students in the school.
‘Most of our girl child that are in these schools are suffering because of the poor WASH facilities in our schools. They feel that their only option is to go home or stay home. But with the kind of facilities that we are providing, I think it will be a thing of the past. And that is not just for the students as this affects our academic and non-academic staff. You will agree with me that no teacher will attempt to stay away from school.’
[unitegallery WASH2018]
