The project
Across Nepal girls are kept out of school by lack of water and toilets. According to Ministry of Education, Nepal is the 16th poorest country in the world and almost one million children are out of school with girls from the poorest families especially affected at secondary school age.
Gender disparity in education widens as poverty increases. Water access and inadequate sanitation and hygiene facilities are key obstacles to school attendance. The poverty rate in Gulmi district is 25.6%, about 10% higher than the national average; girls in Gulmi are at high risk of not attending school. According to a study conducted in 2016; an additional year of secondary education boosts a girl’s future wages between 15 to 25%.
The project area has been selected in collaboration with the government as girls here are at high risk of dropping out of school when transitioning between primary and secondary education due to lack of water and poor school WASH facilities. Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality is one of the driest Rural Municipalities in the district thus all ten secondary school in this municipality has been targeted.
TREATS Nepal – “Transforming Education through Energy Access and Simple, Sustainable Solutions in Gulmi District” is a new collaboration of the Unica Foundation with Renewable World to improve access to secondary education for 3,312 vulnerable children (1,753 girls & 1,559 boys) including children with disabilities, through renewable energy powered water provision and accessible, dignified WaSH facilities in all ten secondary schools in Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality, Gulmi District.
Milestones
1. SolarMUS Construction
Good progress has been made with the construction of the civil infrastructure at both proposed SolarMUS sites, preparing for installation of the solar electro-mechanical components that complete the system later in the year. In Suryodaya, an intake tank, horizontal roughing filter and 20,000 litre-capacity reinforced concrete (RC) water storage tank have been completed. In Thulo Pokhara Kabre Pokhari, a collection chamber, horizontal roughing filter and 50,000 litre-capacity RC tank have been completed, with fencing work and intake construction ongoing.
2. Pre-construction Safety and Construction
Training Pre-construction safety and construction training was conducted for both SolarMUS schemes in the community building hall at Kabre Pokhari School. The training brought together 25 participants including members of the Water User Committees (WUC), schoolteachers, and school management committee representatives. The main objective of the training was to build the WUC members knowledge of the components of SolarMUS, implementation and monitoring, as well as the importance of health and safety during the construction work. A written test was conducted before and after the training to test the participants’ knowledge and to obtain feedback on the training.
3. Construction of WASH Infrastructure
Construction work has been completed in nine schools with the remaining work in two schools scheduled to be completed by mid-August.
4. Water User Committees
WUCs have been established in Thulo Khola Kabre Pokhari and Suryodaya and have submitted registration documents in the Rural Municipality. In support of the WUC’s goal to register their water sources legally and develop water source protection and safety plans to be shared with the municipality, a source protection activity was conducted in both locations. The Project Team, with WUC members and teachers, inspected the water source and catchment area for each SolarMUS, identifying possible hazards and any risk factors that might cause a depletion in water output. The teams prepared action plans to control any risks and protect the water source, which will be submitted to the Rural Municipality with a request for the support to conduct the planned activities.
5. Multi-Stakeholder Visit to Project Schools
On the 2nd of June 2022, a multi-stakeholder meeting was held, bringing together members of the Rural Municipality Project Advisory Committee (RMPAC), Renewable World staff, representatives of NYPS – our local partner who is leading on government liaison and social mobilisation – as well as school representatives. The RMPAC team inspected a recently installed bio-sand filter with drinking water and hand washing station, and the newly constructed gender and disability-friendly toilets at Ishwori School. The school’s head teacher explained the benefits and impact of the filter in providing safe drinking water, not only for the school but also to the people visiting nearby Gulmi Darbar Palace. The Vice Chairperson of the municipality said the project has had a positive impact, especially for girls, and the Chief Administration Officer suggested future collaboration on the provision of water filters in other schools.
6. Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) Materials
IEC covering critical hand washing moments, household water purification methods, and menstrual hygiene management (MHM) were printed, laminated, and disseminated to all 11 secondary schools. Materials on the first two themes were also disseminated to 25 primary schools and two English boarding schools located in Gulmi Darbar. Information hoardings on MHM and critical handwashing moments have been installed in all 11 schools.
7. Orienting Children’s Clubs
The Project Team conducted an orientation session with members of the children’s clubs, who will implement sanitation and hygiene activities in the schools and surrounding communities to encourage WASH-focused behaviour change. The orientation provided information about their roles and responsibilities and guidance on the extra-curricular activities in this campaign. A school WASH plan including these activities will be prepared after the completion of the WASH construction work which will be done by Q7.
8. Menstrual Hygiene Management Sessions
In collaboration with teachers and Female Community Health Volunteers, age-appropriate orientations sessions for girls and boys on MHM began in Q6 and will be continued throughout the project, guided by need. In Q6, 15 sessions were conducted, with 742 students from grades 6-12 participating (Boys-349, Girls-393). Orientation focused on MHM, puberty health and awareness raising, including menarche, myths and taboos, uses and management of sanitary napkins/pads, pain management, and body hygiene during menstruation.
9. WASH Awareness-Raising in Schools
The project is collaborating with children’s clubs at the 11 schools, to organise extra-curricular activities driving WASH, MHM and puberty health awareness. These activities have the benefit of engaging a wide range of students’ talents as well as getting these important messages out in many ways. Activities have included quizzes, poetry, speech and debate competitions, drawing competitions, dramas and plays. To celebrate Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28th May, a speech competition on “Importance of Menstruation Hygiene Management in today’s time” was conducted at Myalpokhari, Sharada and Thulo Pokhara Schools. Sharada School held a short drama competition about girls facing difficulty during menstruation, the impact on health of drinking dirty water and discrimination in society based on caste and between sons and daughters. Drawing competitions on the theme “Clean home and health” were conducted at Ishwori, Myalpokhari and Rajarunkha Schools.
10. Youth Agents of Change
The Youth Agents of Change (YACs), 10 students including boys and girls from grades 6 to 10 of each school, received orientation about hygiene and sanitation and training to conduct a knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) survey. With input from the project’s monitoring, evaluation and learning team, the survey questionnaire was developed, focussing on six key hygiene activities and the right to education. The YACs surveyed a total of 3,178 households, representing a population of 16,030 people in the communities surrounding the schools, gathering data about hygiene and sanitation status as well as gathering gender and disability demographic data. The Project Team then analysed this data and disseminated the findings at ward-level workshops attended by students, teachers, school management committees, ward office and health post representatives. The goal of the workshop was to develop a plan for the WASH campaign informed by the needs shown in the KAP findings.
11. Annual Review Meeting
The Project Team conducted an annual review with NPYS in March 2022. Collectively the group reviewed progress, challenges and lessons learned from the first year of the project and worked to develop a sustainability and exit plan for the end of the project. In addition to preparation of an action plan to achieve the remaining activities in the project, a Memorandum of Understanding was developed with the municipality to increase engagement of the local government and ensure sustainability.
Information
Beneficiaries
3,312 school going children (1,753 girls & 1,559 boys)
Location:
Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality, Gulmi District
Start date: End date:
01-01-2021 30-06-2023
Status:
In progress (60%)
Techniques
Drinking water systems
Education
Solar power
Partners & sponsors
Renewable World (partner)
Nawa Prabhat Yuwa Sangh (NPYS) (implementation partner)
Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality
AFPRO
Unica Foundation