Sign the petition for Everyone, Everywhere 2030

This September, world leaders are meeting in New York to discuss a set of international development priorities for the next 15 years.

The last time they did this, in the year 2000, they failed to prioritise water and sanitation. That's partly why today millions of people still don't have taps or toilets, and millions of girls still spend hours that they could be in school making long walks to collect water for their families.

This year, we need to make sure that water and sanitation make their shortlist.

Sign the petition now! www.wateraid.org/uk/YorkshireEE

Taps and toilets can be key to a future where girls are educated equally and are free to fulfil their potential.

The lack of water can affect students in different ways

The challenges of lack of water and hygiene and sanitation facilities affect the students Ras Zesilas Elementary and Junior School, Addis Ababa, in different ways.

“Girls are particularly disadvantaged,” says Mekdes Dagne, Head of the Girls Club. “The girls sometimes experience their menstruation while in class and if they want to go and change pads, which we give for free, they have to have some privacy. The toilets do not have doors. So we put aside a room where they can change, and even take a rest if they have cramps. But there is no water in there. They have to go to the only tap, which they usually find locked. And then they have to dump the used pads in the toilet, which is hundreds of metres away on the other side of the school. Some of them would rather stay at home for those three or four days instead of subjecting themselves to all these things.”

Mekdes (pictured) is not talking about a theoretical possibility. She had an experience she will never forget. “There was this student of mine who was made fun of by students because the blood showed on her dress and she never came back to school. I went to a town called Woliso and saw her living on the streets with her child. She didn’t want to face me, but I pushed and asked her how it all happened, and she said her family threw her out for disgracing them with a bastard. Apparently, after she left school, she was vulnerable to things out there. It all started with lack of better sanitation and hygiene facilities at her school.”

Everyone at the school understands water is a scarce resource. And the only tap something that needs care.

Hiwot Walelign is an eighth grade student at Ras ZeSilas. At 17 and with a solid academic record, she is an influential figure at the school. As a class monitor, one of her roles includes looking after the water tap.

“Monday, it is I and another monitor from the fifth grade. We make sure students drink their water in a queue and responsibly. We have one tap and we have to look after it. If you don’t have water it is not easy to learn. If you are really thirsty, will you sit there thinking about your thirst, or concentrate on what your teacher has to say?”

Coming from a student who knows academic success comes not only from sitting in the class and reading the textbook, it’s a practical question. “I read now as much as when my mother was alive. I used to do household chores when she was alive as much as I do now. But I am not nearly as good a student as when she was around. It’s not about being in class. You need your concentration. If you are thirsty, you cannot concentrate on your education. If you go back to class sweating from physical education sessions, you won’t feel good. It’s good if you cool off your face a bit, or for the boys, even wash their heads and go back to class fresh. Then you can concentrate.”

Eye infections are a problem in Ethiopia

Ras Zesilas Elementary and Junior School (below) in the capital Addis Ababa is unique in Ethiopia because it has a long list of clubs that deal with specific themes.

Instead of Gender Club which just focuses on everything related to boys, girls and relationships, they have a branch that only girls are allowed to participate in - the Girls' Club.

Instead of the generic Health Club or Sanitation and Hygiene Club, they have an Eye Health Club necessitated by the amount of students that suffer from trachoma and other eye infections, mostly as a result of insufficient water and hygiene facilities. It's unique.

Tariku Tekele, 57, is a biology teacher with 38 years of teaching experience. In his spare time he helps as a coordinator of the Eye Health Club that now boasts over 120 volunteer member students. Seven of the students form an Executive Committee that oversees the day-to-day operations of the club and inform Tariku whenever they need support.

Tariku has his theories about why this and other schools in the area are particularly victimised by trachoma.

“I don’t think the trachoma starts in school. In fact, I believe it has to do with the way people in this area build their houses. The houses do not have windows to let out dust or smoke as they also cook inside. They also let their animals stay in their house instead of building them their own stables. So the chances of children getting infected are high. And when they come here and interact with children who barely have water to wash, the bacteria easily goes from one to the other.” says Tariku.

Tariku received training in detecting trachoma and other eye diseases using an E-chart and pinhole camera. He then brought the instruments to his school. A first-round survey he did on 800 students showed that 187 of them had one or other eye problem.

Tariku says, “That is nearly a quarter of them, so I contacted the NGO that trained us and we are waiting for their response. They said they would come make confirmation tests and distribute glasses according to the results. They have done that in another school where they charged students only 15 birr (£0.5) nominal fee. So I hope they will come here too.”

Tekalign Sahile, seventh grade student, is 14 years old. He has been suffering from poor vision and painful eyes for the last two years.

“I have a burning feeling inside my eyes, it’s itchy sometimes and it gets really red and cloudy. Sometimes it’s as if I am seeing through the clouds. I have seen doctors six or seven times. I was injected medicines in both eyes; it gets better and then it goes back. They say I am allergic to dust, smoke and too much light.”

Tekalign (pictured below centre) thinks his eye sickness has compromised his concentration on his education. “Every time I go to see the doctor, I miss a school day or two. Multiply that by five or six and you will see how much I miss out. I get some exam questions that are too challenging, which I am sure I would have figured out easily if I were there when the teacher talked about them.”

Tekalign wants to be an ophthalmologist when he grows up. “I want to be able to help children in my kind of situation both medically and also financially. That is why I signed up to the Eye Health Club. I don’t want other kids to go through what I am going through.”

 

 

Post your picture as part of WaterAid campaign

 

A new WaterAid campaign, launching this week, is asking women everywhere to post a childhood snap with the hashtag #MeAsAGirl, to raise awareness of the thousands of girls around the world who are suffering because they lack access to clean water.

The problems they endure aren’t limited to the obvious – lack of safe drinking water, personal hygiene and clean toilet facilities – but also have a direct link to education, as children spend their days trying to collect and carry clean water for their families, rather than going to school. The consequences of not having these basic services affect women and girls the most, as going to the toilet in the open leaves them vulnerable to violence and sexual assault.

“I’m supporting WaterAid’s To be a girl campaign as I believe all girls should be able to go to school and get an education,” Sarah Brown said today. “Too many girls around the world drop out of school because of the lack of somewhere private to go the toilet, or spend hours collecting water every day or have school sick days from drinking dirty water. No girl deserves to miss the chance to fulfil her potential because of lack of access to clean, safe water.”

Highlight the carefree childhoods that most people growing up in the UK have, Wateraid will be re-tweeting everyone who shares their #MeAsAGirl pictures on Twitter and will update a gallary with the best snaps.

Visit www.tobeagirl.org to read stories from girls around the world and to find out more. Support the campaign by sharing a pictures of #MeAsAGirl