Detailed description

TOILETON was aimed to provide students, in three public schools in El Salvador, appropriate toilets and sinks for each gender as well as an appropriate solid waste management system. Additionally, the project provided training on WASH-related topics to teachers, students, and members of the community. 1,388 students and 49 teachers and administrative staff (more than 50% women) were directly benefited. It consisted in building a safe, healthy, and sustainable high-quality scholar environment through the construction or improvement of sanitary facilities. Installation of water filtering and purifying systems; developing and implementing a duly structured education component to fulfill the WASH-related sustainability requirements, which will also include MHM; implementing a strict gender and human rights approach; and achieving larger participation of school management committees, and community members.

Community assessment: How the project team learned about the community’s needs

Members of Club Rotario San Salvador Maquilishuat conducted on-site inspections and community needs assessments amongst schools’ authorities, teachers, parents, and students. It was a comprehensive assessment of current conditions and needs to improve sanitation. Issues included bathrooms, sanitation installations, water supply, and quality, as well as food preparation areas and methods. Through on-site inspections, the TOILETON team found that schools had poorly maintained toilets, most of them were latrines, in confined spaces with limited ventilation, lacked soap and appropriate facilities to wash hands. Additionally, girls did not have safe and decent spaces for their menstrual hygiene, so they skipped school attendance during their period, affecting their school performance and self-esteem.

Project impact: How the project will help the community after the project ends

Rotary Club San Salvador Maquilishuat’s intervention purpose is to foster behavior changes related to hygiene and sanitation, aimed to improve health conditions and students' learning performance in public schools. Better sanitary conditions will help reduce scholar absenteeism, due to diarrhea and other gastrointestinal diseases and to poor sanitary practices during the girls’ menstrual period, and the dropout rate, particularly among the girls, who would otherwise leave their studies when they reach puberty. It will promote the adoption of good WASH habits in the community since children become agents of change within their families and communities. It is also expected to prevent the spread of diseases and reduce malnutrition, diarrheal and other diseases caused by lack of access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene. Finally, it will promote gender equality, by teaching common tasks for girls and boys, such as cleaning toilets, carry and boil water and take care of the sick.

Sustainability: How the benefits of the project will continue afterward

The team organized TOILETON Committees, which will be the governing bodies that will take over the responsibility and sustainability of the facilities and education after the intervention completion. The committees will be established in collaboration with schools’ authorities and members of the community. The project included WASH-related training for the members of the WASH Committees, to be prepared for supervising the appropriate use and maintenance of the sanitary premises. Despite schools having maintenance budgets; WASH Committees will accompany the schools, supporting any maintenance and/or cleaning materials need that schools may have. The Committees will organize fundraising activities for this purpose. We consider that support activities conducted by parents reinforce the community-school bonds and are a key part of the children's education. The team developed a Monitoring and Evaluation system to conduct reviews of the premises during the first twelve months post completion