Casey Marsh is part of a delegation of U.S. Fund for UNICEF staff and supporters currently visiting UNICEF's country programs in Zambia. She will be reporting on her experiences from the field all week.
We have learned a lot about water and sanitation during our time in Zambia. The schools that we visited yesterday featured "hand-washing corners" and the schools and villages told us proudly about the fact that they are striving for one toilet for every family. For many years, villagers have defecated in the fields for lack of better facilities. This caused all kinds of diseases, and UNICEF is supporting a widespread effort to bring healthy sanitation, including pit latrines and water wells, to the region.
 |
| © UNICEF/ HQ96-1166/Giacomo Pirozzi |
| Children drink and play with water from a handpump financed by UNICEF at Nthombimbi Primary School, a community school in the village of Nthombimbi, Zambia. |
When our group woke up this morning in our lodge, there was a problem with the water tank and there was no water available for most of the guests. We take clean water, toilets and showers for granted every day, but for hundreds of thousands of people in this tiny country alone, there are no such facilities. When we missed one shower, complaints were filed on our behalf by our hosts, and apologies were made. However, everyone has a right to clean water and safe, hygienic facilities, and the irony did not escape us!
We visited an incredible village today, Siankope Village. In just a matter of months, the villagers took initiative and installed toilets for every household. Keep in mind that the facilities are basic—they are usually pit latrines covered with mud bricks and thatched roofs. However, it is a community-led project, and they do not rely on any outside "handouts" to get the work done.
There was a very proud group of adults called the Sanitation Action Group waiting to greet us. They created very detailed maps on large sheets of paper, and they displayed those maps on the ground for us. The maps were before and after pictures to display how they tracked the progress of each household to ensure that everyone installed a toilet. 89 households installed toilets within 2 months! They now have 100 percent coverage. UNICEF was critical in the partnership, as they provided training for leaders of the project, including chiefs of various tribal groups in the district. Once the chiefs were convinced of the value, everyone else got in line!
 |
| © UNICEF/ HQ98-0926/Giacomo Pirozzi |
| During a community meeting in the village of Kafula Futa, north of Lusaka, Zambia's capital, villagers draw a map of the village in order to decide where to place new latrines, which will be built with UNICEF support. |
One of the district leaders heard that we were there touring, and he jumped on his bike and rode about 10 kilometers in a suit in order to be able to greet us, tell us about the project proudly, and thank us. The villagers say definitively that disease has significantly decreased already.
We also visited a school that integrates disabled children into the student body. Although there were very few children there at this time of year, we were able to see the very meager facilities. The wheelchairs and the dorm rooms for disabled kids were incredibly run-down. There are 22 teachers for 671 students. 55 of those students are disabled, and they face extraordinary challenges with minimal resources. UNICEF is working with the government on an initiative to provide more accessible schools for disabled children.