JG Afrika Botswana partnered with The Coca-Cola Foundation’s (TCCF) Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) to improve handwashing behaviour, knowledge and accessibility for over 25 000 students and teachers throughout Botswana.
The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) was first introduced the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) in 2009 due to the lack of water and sanitation faced by almost 300 million Africans. Managed by RAIN, The Coca-Cola Foundation’s flagship community water program contributes to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and sanitation.
The Coca-Cola Foundation and its partners are committed to improving child health and hygiene and this project is just one of many in which JG Afrika, including its Botswana office, continues to demonstrate its expertise in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector.
Importantly, these projects have a strong rural community development focus. They rely upon our skills and experience in community-based management and monitoring and evaluation; construction/implementation. This is in addition to community institutional development, livelihoods analysis and training.
This initiative is centred around the use of a toolkit comprising 12 lessons focused on basic WASH education, planning and monitoring of water use and performance.
The toolkit teaches students how to construct tippy taps, which are simple and cost-effective handwashing stations. These structures can be made within minutes anywhere on school premises to provide instant access to handwashing facilities across campus.
Students can construct tippy taps in their homes and spread improved handwashing behavior to their communities and families. The benefits of students’ improved WASH knowledge, thus, also ripple through the communities.
Student ownership of this project is key to the long-term adoption of the hygiene behaviours it promotes.
WASH Management Teams monitor WASH conditions at schools, spread WASH knowledge among their peers, and serve as role models by demonstrating proper WASH practices. Through this structure, students are empowered to take responsibility for WASH at their school and encourage uptake of personal hygiene improvements.