Since 2004 Village Water has supported safe water, hygiene and sanitation promotion in more than 1066 villages and schools in rural Africa, improving health and opportunity for hundreds of thousands of people.The ALMT are supporting Village Water to work in one large school with approx. 500 students in Zambia, through their Solar-Electric Schools and Health project (SESH).

The project aims to provide safe water and decent toilets and therefore improve children’s health, school attendance and completion rates, particularly for girls. The project will provide a safe water point, which feeds a header tank and distributes water to flushable sanitation facilities with 4-5 tap stands at key sites.

Approximately 17 Local villages will be able to use the water for a small donation, and this will then be used to cover the cost of bills and maintenance.

It will:

• Create two permanent flushable toilet blocks (1girls, 1boys) urinals, shower and sinks, and 2 teachers toilets.
• Provide hygiene training for pupils, community members and teachers, and menstrual health promotion to all pupils above Grade 4.
• Provide training and materials to set up a workshop for reusable sanitary products. Form and train a water committee to maintain the water point and collect fees for repairs.
• Run follow-up visits to test water quality, pump functionality, and monitor reductions in diseases and school absenteeism.
• Share the learning in feeder villages by training and sanitation champions who will encourage behaviour change. Create leaflets in the local language to help reinforce messages.