HAND washing stations and water tanks have been installed in Bulawayo’s secondary schools under the Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC) to reduce the risk of diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.
Hygiene kits, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and cleaning as well as disinfecting materials such as face masks, soap, buckets, gloves and gumboots have also been distributed in schools.
The schools also received Information Education and Communication (IEC) materials, including t-shirts and posters with key messages on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
The HBCC programme has targeted 74 schools in Harare and Bulawayo with critical interventions through the school health committees. Government runs the programme through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and GOAL Zimbabwe. The programme is funded by UK Aid that receives funds from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom,
Various schools were assessed yesterday to determine the positive impact of the HBCC programme. The assessment was headed by the Director of Communications and Advocacy in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Mr Taungana Ndoro.
The schools assessed include Townsend High School, Evelyn High School,Mpopoma High School and Montrose High School.
“As the Government, we appreciate our relationship with our development partners UNICEF who, together with Goal Zimbabwe, have implemented a WASH programme we are really proud of considering the water challenges here in Bulawayo.
“The programme is especially useful to our pupils, the girl child mainly, in that it gives them the confidence to attend school in which they are physically clean, and thelearning environment is clean and safe,” Mr Ndoro said.
Pupils expressed gratitude for the HBCC programme and the work which is being done by organisations partneringGovernment. They said the programme has enabled them to learn more about personal hygiene and its benefits in the school and community. The pupils have been taught to wash their hands properly with soap before eating and after using the toilet so that there are no outbreaks of diseases.
In an interview, Mpopoma High School headmaster, Mr Christopher Dube said HBCC has hugely assisted the school.
He said the project has strengthened school health clubs. The headmaster said pupils have also received soap, sanitisers, t-shirts, face masks while schools are getting water tanks.
“Students go through the process of moving from the school gate, going through the area where they wash their hands and then finally proceed to their classrooms,” said Mr Dube. He said the donated items and the practice of hygiene activities will help eradicate the spread of diseases, especially Covid-19.
Mr Dube said the school did not have soap in ablution facilities before the programme but now, they are privileged to have pupils thoroughly washing their hands using the soap. Montrose High School Health Coordinator Ms Alice Chiriya said the programme has boosted the school’s cleanliness.
She said the school is grateful for all the resources that HBCC has provided as it has helped them curb Covid-19 and diseases like diarrhoea and cholera.
“Learners are conscious that they have to be in a clean environment for their safety in learning, and thus we urge the programme managers to continue with the good work that they have impacted in schools and the community at large,” said Ms Chiriya.
She said a hand washing station is still being constructed at the school and it will help pupils to maintain high levels of hygiene. – The Chronicle
