Self Help Africa Promotes Sanitation and Hygiene in Dowa Schools

International charity organization Self Help Africa has intensified efforts to promote sanitation and hygiene in primary schools across Dowa through an initiative called Shasha.
Joel Ndeule, the Dowa Integrated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Project Manager for Self Help Africa, explained that the initiative focuses on sustainable, accountable, and gender-responsive sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual services to create a healthy learning environment for adolescent boys and girls.
Speaking on Friday during a prize presentation at Chilima Primary School in Traditional Authority Mponela-Dowa, which won the sanitation and hygiene promotion competition, Ndeule emphasized the importance of hygiene for learners’ and communities’ well-being.
“We believe this initiative is a powerful tool to engage learners from various schools in building a foundation for embracing sanitation and hygiene. Since these are largely behavioral issues, we aim to instill these values in young people so they can extend the same practices to their households,” said Ndeule.
He also expressed satisfaction with the positive response from communities, attributing this to the support provided by the organization, which has led to significant improvements compared to the past.
Acting Chief Education Officer for Dowa, Dorothy Mzungu, commended the initiative for its impact on improving sanitation and hygiene in schools.
“Education is not only about learning in class. It begins with hygiene. Our learners need to be well-prepared to attend classes,” Mzungu said.
The competition involved ten schools from various education zones within the district. The winning school received prizes worth over K15 million, including handwashing buckets with taps, soap, football and netball jerseys, balls, exercise books, and other learning materials.