Social

New hygiene facilities as a basis for everyday school life

The lack of adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities severely affected the health of pupils at the schools of Bilaa, a community in western Ethiopia, and disrupted normal learning and teaching practices.

Africa

Ethiopia

Bilaa

Funding period: 2021-2023

Bilaa is located in the less developed western part of Ethiopia where poverty is widespread. As communities in that region have to fight for their survival, they generally cannot afford to build basic infrastructure such as sanitation or hygiene facilities. Local schools usually build makeshift latrines from unprocessed wood, which only has a lifetime of three years and is unhygienic even when it is still new. These unacceptable conditions are regularly causing high numbers of school dropouts. The lack of washbasins also leads to the spread of diseases.

Dorfbewohner errichten das Mauerwerk einer Sanitäreinrichtung — Construction of the external structure of the new sanitary facilities. Photo: WasserStiftung, Munich

The Wilo-Foundation supported the “Good hygiene – better health” project of the WasserStiftung, Munich, which ran until 2023 and effectively improved learning and living conditions for around 10,000 inhabitants of the Bilaa community. The funding provided by the Wilo-Foundation was used to build hygienic sanitation facilities and hand-washing facilities enabling students to apply good hygiene practices. The project was being implemented and monitored by the WasserStiftung, Munich, in collaboration with the Ethiopian organisation Environmentalists Development Association Ethiopia (EDA-E).

Mehrere Frauen bei einem Workshop zur Menstruationshygiene — Around 150 workshops on hygiene practices for schools and villages were conducted. Photo: WasserStiftung, Munich

Permanent sanitary toilet facilities were built at the school. Photo: WasserStiftung, Munich

The largest direct target group were the approximately 5,000 school children and 130 teachers of the primary and secondary schools in Bilaa and around 1,900 vilage inhabitants who participated in workshops on soapmaking and menstruation hygiene. The awareness-raising sessions carried out by EDA-E staff and pupils reached a large number of inhabitants and market visitors, who in this way also increased their knowledge of WASH issues.

Photo Header: WasserStiftung, Munich

Our funding partner

The non-profit WasserStiftung (“water foundation” in English) was founded in the year 2000 and has its headquarters near Munich. The foundation’s work is based on its commitment to ensuring the human right to water and sanitation. The foundation is guided by the objectives of securing the future and protecting resources by promoting sustainable ecological, economic and social development. All its activities focus on strengthening the independence and self-reliance of the people living in the target regions.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forms the global framework for action for socially, economically and ecologically sustainable development. Our funding commitment also supports these sustainability goals. With this project, we are making a contribution to achieving the following SDGs:

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