Progress report for
Children as agents of change- an intervention in Kerala (India) on WASH in Schools
Achievement at a glance
In WASH in Schools (WinS), children are reported as powerful agents of change both in their homes as well as in the community. It was noted that the program has a profound impact on the learning ability of children, especially for girls. Girls are reluctant to go to schools due to a lack of appropriate toilets and handwashing facilities and consequently become vulnerable to dropping out of school. As an impact of the program, there was observed an increase in girls’ participation, development of positive hygiene behaviors; further translating such good practices into their families and communities.Kerala State in India has 14 districts with a population of 34.6 million people. Out of the 14 districts, 4 Southern districts were fully covered with the program on WASH in Schools (WinS) with funding support from the World Water Council. We are planning to expand this program to the remaining 10 districts of the State of Kerala as stated in our commitment under the Water Action Agenda.
We have used international forums such as the UN 2023 Water Conference and the forthcoming 10th World Water Forum-2024 in Bali to scale up worldwide the Constitutional amendment of the "Right to Children" under the purview of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 in India that ensures all schools must have adequate safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, including separate toilets for boys and girls; and facilities for hygiene, especially menstrual hygiene management for adolescent girls.
With financial support from the World Water Council, we have launched this project in the State of Kerala (India) entitled "Children as agents of change - an intervention in Kerala (India) on WASH in Schools". Based on the preliminary observation, we have been able to conduct a Side Event inside the UN Headquarters in New York during the UN 2023 Water Conference entitled "Scaling up of Right to Children on WASH in Schools". https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/InsideUNHQ_Scaling%20Up%20of%20Rights%20of%20Children%20to%20WASH%20in%20Schools.pdf
Further, as a follow-up action; CCHR-India as Coordinator of a Session (T2D2) at the 10th World Water Forum - 2024 in Bali, Indonesia, will discuss and chalk out further plans regarding the way forward towards the realization of SDG 6 with a particular emphasis on access to Sanitation and Hygiene for all. The title of the Session is “T2D2 Access to sanitation and hygiene for all at the household level, in schools, and in healthcare facilities with specific attention to the poor and the vulnerable people.”
Challenges faced in implementation
The main challenge before the WASH in Schools (WinS) program is the insufficient financial support from the stakeholders including donor agencies, State, and Union Governments. Though the program is a collective effort by the sector, adequate financial support is not able to be accessed substantially. Remuneration for project resource persons and staff is not adequate in order to accelerate the program on track as part of our commitment towards SDG 6 by 2030. New IEC materials in local languages are necessary for capacity training and advocacy actions. Their production and printing costs are found to be another challenge before the implementation of the program at the grassroots level. There is a need to publicize positive work and trends in WASH to scale up commitment and effort. It was observed that Bottom-up approaches for youth engagement in WASH will produce optimum outcomes when combined with teachers’ engagement. Therefore, we are seeking 1 million US dollars (10,00,000 US Dollars) as financial support from UN agencies/donors as part of our commitment to realizing SDG 6 by 2030 under the Water Action Agenda.Next Steps
As the next step, we are planning to implement and expand the WASH in Schools (WinS) program in the remaining 10 districts of Kerala State in India in order to realize the commitment towards SDG 6 by 2030. Children need to be empowered as agents of change to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Rights to Water and Sanitation are game-changing rights for accessing other human rights. It is important to promote education since it is an enabler of human rights, peace, and WASH awareness. There is a need to support schools in promoting menstrual hygiene management and other WASH issues. In India, girls and women face challenges such as open defecation, unsafe drinking water, unhygienic conditions that risk their health, and risks of violence in accessing WASH. There is a need to scale up laws, policies, and commitments to improve WASH conditions. Youth leaders need to be hopeful and involved as well as willing to transmit the WASH success stories that are being developed already to encourage more people to join the cause. There is a need to invest in capacity building and the construction of community networks to promote access to WASH. Our published commitment under the Water Action Agenda is to ensure the basic Rights of the Child such as access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities under the purview of the Right to Education (RTE). Partnership with multilevel actors is essential to achieve the sustainability of school sanitation and hygiene education programs. These stakeholders should highlight the fact that children are effective agents of change and their rights to WASH are a necessity not only in India but also in other countries around the world. It is therefore important to implement environmental awareness/school sanitation/hygiene education in school syllabus for a healthy school environment, to strengthen capacity-building programs, and to fight against any threats such as diseases or infections caused by lack of WASH safe access.Beneficiaries
Children are the primary beneficiaries of the WASH in Schools programs. Families of children as well as their communities are the secondary beneficiaries. As children benefit from better training on good practices, they will act as role models in society. Therefore, the whole nation will benefit from responsible citizens having an improved quality of life. Further, scaling up of the WASH in Schools (WinS) program enables better cooperation and coordination of stakeholders such as Local Self Governments (Panchayats/PRIs), PTA, Teachers, NGOs, Eco-clubs, WASH School Committees, donor agencies, and the State and Union Governments.