Itula Secondary School gets new latrine facilities
Palorinya settlement- Prior to the refugee crisis, Itula Secondary School in Palorinya Zone I of Moyo District hosted less than 200 students. Since December 2016, Moyo District became the hosting epicenter for newly-arriving refugees where 85% of these are women and children.
As a result, schools in the host community saw an enormous influx of students. Itula Secondary School currently has a population of 1,500 (1,392 refugees and 108 hosts) students. However, the school’s facilities and infrastructure have not expanded.
This mismatch of facilities-to-students is especially evident in the sector of water, sanitation and hygiene. The entire student population uses 4, almost full, latrine facilities and 2 bathing structures. This poses potential deadly outcomes like uncleanliness and open defecation hence a higher risk to an outbreak and spread of water-borne diseases.
In Adjumani District, just across the Nile from Palorinya, such practices caused a cholera outbreak in August 2016, infecting 50 refugees and nationals.
To prevent similar health crises, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) partnered with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) to extend water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services to refugees and host community residents in Moyo District from April 2016 to March 2017.
With support from ECHO, LWF erected communal latrines and handwashing facilities across Moyo District.
In May 2017, Itula Secondary School was one of the 7 schools that received a 5-stance latrine (2 stances for men, 2 for women and 1 for the disabled), together with bathing and handwashing facilities.
To maintain Itula’s facility amidst high population pressures and to encourage hygienic practices, the school formed health clubs. Each class has one club, comprised of at least ten members, that were trained by the District Health Department.
In total, the school has over 100 health club members who undertake health-related community service projects in the school and community at large. The clubs for instance educate their peers on hygiene and sanitation during morning assemblies, clean the latrine facilities twice a week, and ensure sufficient latrine supplies like latrine covers, toilet paper and soap are always available.
The Head Teacher recounts that the sanitation and hygiene at the school has improved hence improving the lives of students and staff as well as protecting them from a potential outbreak and spread of water-borne diseases.
He however adds that “there is still much need to expand the school’s latrines.”
To improve sanitation and hygiene in Palorinya, LWF not only erected sanitary facilities but also implemented sensitization campaigns. The campaigns were aimed at increasing knowledge on sanitation and hygiene as well as creating positive attitudes and practices among refugees and host community residents.
Through the campaigns, community leaders were trained on handwashing, the importance of latrine-use, latrine maintenance, safe water chains, and how to prevent water-borne diseases. Community leaders are supposed to share such information with the people in their communities.
