there for children.

COVID 19 response project in schools in Benin

Many thanks for your support, which meant we were able to complete the project successfully.

project summaryWith the acces to clean water and hygiene measures, students in Benin can be protected against Covid-19, at same time education and development can be promoted. Support the access to clean water wit a donation of CHF 50.

Background

The African continent seems relatively spared of Covid, mainly because of the youth of its population as well as its habit of fighting epidemics. The fight against Covid and access to clean water is although connected. In total, nearly 600 million children do not have access to basic drinking water services in their schools worldwide. We selected 10 schools in Donga’s province in Benin, who are far away from the capital, and forget by authorities: students and teachers have no access to water (hand wash) or latrines (sanitation).

Idea

We want to improve the life of students in these villages: through improved access to water, we improve health. We know that access to water, poverty, and health are connected; contaminated water can transmit diseases such as diarrhoea or cholera. Polluted drinking water is estimated to cause 485 000 diarrhoeal deaths each year. According to WHO improved water supply, sanitation, and better management of water resources, can boost countries’ economic growth and can make an important contribution to poverty reduction.
The main goals for the project are: Protect students and teachers from the COVID 19 pandemic by providing access to water and necessary hygiene materials. We want to implement WASH (Water, sanitation and hygiene) in the schools and help the pupils und teachers.
The realisation of our project will not only help against Covid but will also reduce other diseases and improve the hygiene standards and life quality. The project will also affect and improve the life of the students families, therefore the impact of the project is even more substantial.

Implementation

Our project aims at 10 primary schools in Donga’s province with 1540 students, including 650 girls and 890 boys, 84 teachers, and concerning around 5000 stakeholders. Our goals for each school are:

Equip students and teachers with protection and disinfection materials;

Install hand-washing facilities in schools;

Raise awareness of hand hygiene and sanitary measures among beneficiaries with volunteer work and sensibilisation events

Install WATA System of chlorine (one per school)

To reach all our objectives the implementation costs are 36.60 CHF per student. We will do one school after another, depending on donation sum.
The goal of WASH in Schools is to improve the health and outcomes of school-aged children and, by extension, their families, by reducing the incidence of water- and sanitation-related diseases. Every child-friendly school must implement WASH actions that keep the school environment clean, and prevent the transmission of harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
In addition to everyday practices such as hand washing and workplace sanitation, the students will make their drinking water safe with sodium hypochlorite, thanks to the WATA system. With this system the population can produce their own chlorine for disinfecting the water. Once set up the WATA system can provide finances through the resale of chlorine to third parties for example. Individuals are expected to become self-sufficient in one to two years and are monitored by management consultants.
With the access to clean water we can improve the resistance against covid and other diseases, at the same time we can improve life quality and education. Thank you very much for your support

Initiators

Our organisation Everybodyneedswater (water & pH soluces) was created in 2012 by water specialists, we manage and create WASH projects and follow the ODD goals (suitable development). All our projects are requests from the field, the local organisation contacts us for support.
In Benin, we have a partnership with ICA Benin. We signed a contract (MoU), where all rules and duties are regulated, by example: no corruption, no discrimination, equality, 10 or 15 % is reserved for the management of the project (no more). 85% of the he money goes in the field.
Our main contact: Issamou Koutamou . Institute of Cultural Affairs-Benin (ICA Benin) is a Beninese NGO founded in 2004 in Benin. It is affiliated with ICA International based in Canada. It is recognized as a public utilitý. ICA Benin is a member of End Water Poverty and WASH Alliance Benin.
ICA works with grassroots communities in the areas of environment and water. The association conducts advocacy activities to facilitate access to drinking water for all by encouraging dialogue between all stakeholders such as beneficiary communities, technical services, political authorities and development aid institutions.

First hygiene measures taken in schools

03/30/2022

Thanks to your donations, four schools have already been provided with various hygiene products. Almost 1,800 students and more than 25 teachers can now effectively be protected from Covid-19.

In February everybodyneedswater was able to successfully turn your donations into hygiene products and supplies. In four schools in the provinces of Donga and Cotonou the material was distributed and successfully implemented. Each school received the same equipment: a hand washing device, 15 liters of detergent in 1.5 liter bottles, as well as 150 masks and 20 rolls of toilet paper. But as this is not enough, ICA added 300 more masks per school. Many thanks for this! From February 10th to February 15th, we visited the schools, delivered the materials and presented and demonstrated the handwashing system to the students, teachers and parents. We started at the elementary school in Badjoudè / Dompago, went on to the schools Sonaholou and Ouaké Centre and ended our upgrading mission at the elementary school Kassouah Zongo. At all schools, the children and young people were excited about our visit and could hardly wait to wash their hands.
During these days, not only the hygiene situation of the schools was discussed, but also the shortage of money of the parents and therefore their inability to pay the school fees as well as the school material. In addition, parents pointed out that many schools lack clean drinking water and hygienic toilets. They would like to see a solution for this problem as well. So if you know people or organizations that can tackle this challenge, we would be very happy to hear from you via email (phsoluces@gmail.com).

Thank you so much!

01/19/2022

Thanks to your donations, we are able to provide four schools in Benin with hygiene materials and other necessary items.

We have already ordered some of the materials and are happy to keep you updated on the progress of our activities.

Anonymous	20 CHF
God works through people	200 CHF
Anonymous	80 CHF
Melinda Zingg	250 CHF
Vermittelt durch Swisscom	250 CHF
Arosa Tourismus	1'000 CHF
Myrtha Simon	200 CHF
Lars Berger	5'000 CHF
Eva-Maria Haslebacher	125 CHF
Vermittelt durch Swisscom	300 CHF
Vermittelt durch Swisscom	160 CHF
Anonymous	100 CHF
Anonymous	72 CHF
Anonymous	50 CHF

Currently, there are still no project partners if you are interested, please contact us via info@there-for-you.com.

Status of the project

7'807,00 CHF

7'800,00 CHF

We will send the donation receipt (for Switzerland) in January of the following year.

Major donor

Arosa Tourismus

1'000 CHF

Project supported by Swisscom

Impact analysis by there for you specialists

Access to clean water and certain hygiene standards are crucial for the health and future of regions, but also on a very individual level. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated this. This project directly helps the students to protect themselves against the pandemic and other diseases, thereby also expanding educational and future opportunities. Overall, the project can have a great impact in the region and provide sustainable improvements.