Water and Sanitation

Water

Water is a key natural resource and as mutually agreed by the humanity, water is life. An adequate supply of clean water is a prerequisite for sustaining human life, maintaining ecological systems and for achieving sustainable development.

Despite boasting one of the longest coastlines in Africa, water remains a scarce and fiercely contested resource. It is acutely scarce in Puntland, which is exasperated by little or no meaningful investment to water and sanitation projects by Central Government.  This has often forced most rural communities to rely on unreliable sources and contaminated water supplies, resulting in the regular outbreaks of water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera. This, among other factors, is widely believed to be at the root of vicious clashes between groups.

TASS has intensified its efforts and upped its investment- both human and capital- to water and sanitation programmes to promote sustainable development in Puntland. This has contributed to healthy living and dignity for the communities.

Water and Sanitation in Schools

Lack of access to clean water and basic sanitation infrastructure in schools impacted negatively on the lives of children in particular. Such schools are therefore likely to bear the brunt of increased children illnesses coupled with low school enrolment, poor classroom attendance and performance, poor school retention as well as an early dropout altogether.

To counter this ongoing problem, TASS partnered with UNICEF in 2006 in a project aimed at providing water, environmental sanitation and hygiene facilities to 4 primary schools in Bossaso, Garowe and Goldogob towns.   The overall goal of the project was to cre­ate an enabling learning environment that would contribute to improved schoolchildren’s health, welfare, and performance. TASS believed it was imperative that girls, owing to their anatomy, modesty and susceptibility to infection, as well as for cultural reasons, must have access to safe, clean, separate and private sanita­tion facilities in their schools.

The project entailed the construction of toilets for boys, girls and teachers. These were constructed to prevent diseases likely to take advantage of poorly maintained sanitary facilities or any other potential affects that might harm the ability of school-aged children to learn.

In the education campaign, TASS painted school walls with hygiene and sanitation messages and similarly prepared billboards thereby addressing the importance of hand-washing to reduce diarrhoeal diseases.  To promote sustainability of the project, TASS went out of its way to ensure the communities in the target areas eventually “owned” the projects. They were involved in all the planning as well as the roll-out of the projects. Furthermore, the school community was encouraged to form voluntary committees to oversee or monitor the project throughout its implementation.

The impact of water and sanitation in schools has been greatly felt by students as its altered their lifestyles and introduced sound hygiene practices both in school and at home.