Wash in school: Iganmode senior school

WASH field report

By Dr Babatope Babalobi and Racheal Ogundipe

A team from eWASH visited Iganmode Grammer School, in Ota Ogun State, on March 16, 2023, to assess the status of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities. The team was welcomed by the school principal, Mr I.O Salako who briefed the team on the current WASH status and situation of the school. The school officially has a population of 5123 students and about 100 staff. They have access to safe drinking water and toilet facilities.

We made use of an observational checklist and some of the things that we set out to observe are:

1. The sources of drinking water in the school.
2. History and causes of waterborne illnesses such as diarrhoea or cholera
3. Availability of gender-sensitive toilets in the school
4. Students toilet usage
5. Availability of water in the toilet as well as the cleanliness and those responsible for the cleanliness.
6. Presence of handwashing facilities in the toilet such as Soap and Water
7. Attention to privacy for proper menstrual hygiene facilities and materials such as water, access to sanitary pads, waste bins, private space, etc.
8. Water, sanitation, and hygiene challenges as a student

Our findings are summarized below

• The source of water in the school is a borehole, which is usually filtered every term by an NGO called “Water Solutions”
• They have two sections of toilets for the student. The first section has 12 toilet units (6 for each gender) and also 6 urinaries for the male students. The second section has 4 toilet units (2 for each gender).
• They also have 4 toilets for the school staff. One for the teaching staff, one for non-teaching staff and two toilets for the principal.
• They do not have water running in the toilets and there is no soap, wastebin or handwashing facilities as well.
• The toilets are well segregated for males and females and give them privacy
• The school own a well-equipped sick bay for the students and staff with on-site nurses, constructed by a pharmaceutical company called “Fidson Healthcare Plc”. The sickbay also has 5 units of water closet toilets, fully tiled and water running but it is only open to the teachers.
• The school has a vibrant old students association and they make donations for the development of the school, such as the construction of the toilet facility.
• There is a new toilet being constructed but it is at the foundation level.

Recommendations

• Education and training for the students to bring about behavioural change
• Meeting with stakeholders for completion of the new toilet to carter for the number of students in the school