Toilet Renovations at Haraa Primary School

We are so excited to announce we will be working with the Maisha Capacity Development Opportunity (MCDO), helping with their building and renovation of the toilet facilities at Haraa Primary School, in Babati, Tanzania. As a part of this new project, the MCDO aims to complete the construction of six-cubicle girl’s toilet block, build a privacy wall, and add a new cubicle with an incinerator for girls to safely dispose of menstrual products and manage their menstruation, as well as renovating the existing six-cubicle toilet block for the boys.

Background

Community meeting at Haraa Primary, led by MCDO.

The current toilet facilities at Haraa Primary School are particularly poor. Between 308 students, there are only 6 dark, dirty and dilapidated pit latrine toilets. This not only falls hugely below the target ratio of 1 toilet per 20 girls and 1 per 25 boys, but also poses a hygiene risk for all of the students at the school. The poor design of the pit latrine toilets can attract flies and will require for a new toilet block to be built once they are full, encouraging health issues in the children such as diarrhoea, worms, urinary tract infections, typhoid and cholera.

Furthermore, the lack of privacy provided by the current toilet block adds an additional issue for the female pupils. At the moment, the 156 girls at Haraa Primary School do not have adequate facilities if they happen to have begun menstruating whilst at school. This has a knock-on effect, as when girls are unable to effectively manage their periods at school, they are likely to stay off school when they are menstruating, potentially missing several weeks of school every year.

What is being built?

Toilet block renovations beginning at Haraa Primary School.

We will be supporting MCDO in the:

Completion of the partially constructed new six-cubicle girl’s toilet block.
Building of a privacy wall.
Addition of a new cubicle with an incinerator.
Renovation of the existing six-cubicle toilet block.

The community in Babati have partially built the new, six-cubicle block. MDCO will therefore be helping them to complete the work that’s already been done, ultimately transforming the existing toilet facilities at the school to a WHO standard.

What will be the impact?

The school leadership at Haraa Primary School identified improving sanitation and hygiene as an urgent priority. This is because hygienic, safe and adequate toilet facilities are an integral part of a child’s education.

There will be many positive outcomes of this project, such as:

Much cleaner, safer and more hygienic facilities at the school. The installation of water connections inside of the toilet blocks will allow the toilets to be flushed and properly cleaned. In turn, this will minimise the risk of students contracting diseases.
Improved equitable access to education for the girls, thanks to the new privacy wall and incinerator. This is because girls experiencing their periods at school are much more likely to have time off if they do not have adequate facilities in which to manage menstruation. Therefore, these new constructions will provide the 156 girls at Haraa Primary School with the facilities required to make sure their periods don’t stop them from being able to attend school.

We are so happy to be a part of this amazing project and can’t wait to see the impact that it will have upon the students at Haraa Primary School. Stay tuned for more updates as the project continues.

Written by Erin Sharrocks