Hiwane Elementary School

Posted by Sadie - Monday, July 6, 2009

The school was situated in the centre of Hiwane and attracted pupils from across the region, some walking over an hour to get here. 1400 pupils attended school here, split into a morning and an afternoon shift. There were students from grade 1 (aged 6-7) all the way up to grade 7 (age 18 – 22).

This school has water taps and girls and boys latrines, as well as a Sanitation Club . The pupils clean the compound every Friday, and the Sanitation Club perform regular plays to educate the pupils about sanitation and hygiene. We were lucky enough to be there for a performance.

The play showed a family that collect unsafe water but do not have enough, so the father is telling his son not to wash his hands before eating. The father then gets very ill, and goes to town to the clinic, where his town based relatives convince him that a latrine is a good thing and washing your hands is important. At first, he thinks going to the toilet inside a building is disgusting!

By telling their peers in a fun way, the children in the assembly were able to learn about the importance of hygiene. The simple task of washing hands after going to the toilet and before eating is known to reduce the risk of diarrhoeal diseases by up to 40% so explaining this is a vital message and one of the main roles of the Sanitation Club.

Grade 1 learn songs and games about hygiene – they sang one for us about washing their hands before eating and wanting to keep clean. They were well informed, as we asked them lots of questions about hygiene and they all knew the answers!