Completed Toilet Renovations at Haraa Primary School
Last month, we announced that we were working alongside the Maisha Capacity Development Opportunity (MCDO) to assist in their building and renovation of the toilet facilities at Haraa Primary School, in Babati, Tanzania. Now, we are even more excited to announce that the project has been completed!
What does this mean?
The old toilet facilities at Haraa Primary School were poor: just 6 dilapidated pit latrine toilets were being shared between 308 students. This fell largely below the target ratio of 1 toilet per 20 girls and 1 per 25 boys, and posed a hygiene risk for all of the students at the school, encouraging health issues such as diarrhoea, worms, urinary tract infections, typhoid and cholera. Additionally, the 156 female pupils at Haraa Primary School had no facilities in which to discreetly manage their periods, potentially leading to them missing several weeks of school every year.
The old unsuitable toilet facilities at Haraa Primary School.
The beginning of the renovations on the old facilities.
For more information on the old facilities and details of the renovations you can have a read of our previous blog by clicking below:
With Made with Hope’s help, the MCDO have assisted the community in Babati in their completion of the school’s toilet project. The old 6-cubicle toilet block has been renovated, an additional cubicle (with an incinerator) has been added, a privacy wall has been built, and finally, the construction of an entirely new, 6 cubicle girl’s toilet block has been completed.
The effects of this project will be long lasting. Each of these new facilities help to bring the toilets at Haraa Primary School up to World Health Organisation standard. Furthermore, they will minimise the chances of children facing health issues and improve equitable access to education by helping female pupils to manage their periods effectively whilst at school.
The new clean, private and secure toilets.
New lockable doors being added to the toilet block.
The Response
A few weeks on from the completion of the toilet block we are pleased to hear of the positive impact its having!
““We at Haraa primary school, the school development committee, all the parents, and the Haraa community as a whole, together with all of our pupils, are so pleased with the work you have done here with us. We have benefited a lot from the program of repairing the pupils’ toilets: the renovation of six cubicles and the completion of the other six toilets including changing room for girls and a special room for the adolescent girls. The high standards have greatly reduced our concerns of our students contracting health problems, the risks associated with the previous toilets, and addressed the needs of our school.
The Haraa Primary School and its community have accepted this compassion made by you: MCDO, LTT, Made with Hope, and all stakeholders. We want to send our thank you. We assure you that we will maintain these facilities and we will make sure that they will last longer with maximum sanitation.
In addition, we as school team will always collaborate with you in making sure that the school children live in a conducive environment at all times, thus increasing the pupil’s academic level.
Thank you and may Almighty God bless you all!
”
The Team at MCDO have been holding a community meeting for a conversatin about hygiene and menstruation, before selecting WASH ambassadors for the school who will be trained. Here at Made With Hope, we are immensely excited to see how the implementation of WASH ambassadors will increase the lasting impact that this project will have upon the Haraa Primary School and its surrounding community.
As always, thank you to everyone who has supported Made With Hope in helping us to provide our assistance in another project that will improve many children’s access to Education.
If you would like to make a donation to Made with Hope to help us improve access to education for more students in Tanzania please click below!
Thankyou!
Written by Erin Sharrocks