By Oluwatosin Akingbulu In Dangako village,
Taura Local Government Area, Jigawa state, progressive advances are being made to promote good hygiene practices. After being declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) in 2014 as part of the Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Programme, Dangako village has taken further steps to ensure that every one practices handwashing through the use of Tippy Taps. Commonly used in schools, the Tippy Taps were adopted by Dangako villagers for daily use in their homes.
Innovative and easy to construct, the Tippy Taps enable the villagers to wash their hands with soap and fl owing water to avoid contracting diseases. Prior to the extensive use of the Tippy Taps in Dangako village which has a population of 300, diseases such as cholera were widespread due to poor hygiene practices. Th e villagers did not have access to clean water to maintain good personal hygiene as they either got their water from an open well in the community or trekked about 5km to a neighbouring community to get clean water.
‘’It was diffi cult to get water.
Th e children in the village had frequent cases of cholera because the water from the well was contaminated and the people did not practice good personal hygiene,’’ said 30-year-old Gambo Musa, Secretary of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Committee (WASHCom). ‘’Th e children had to trek long distances to fetch water from a neighbouring community. Th ey couldn’t go to school because there was no time for that.’’
However, in November 2016, UNICEF installed two hand pump boreholes in Dangako village under the European Union-funded Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme (WSSSRP II). A third borehole was also provided by the Jigawa State Government. Now, there is enough clean water for all 73 households in the community. Due to the constant availability of water in the village, a public Tippy Tap was constructed in the village centre by the UNICEF-trained WASHCom members for handwashing before meals.
Th e villagers also constructed Tippy Taps in their household latrines to ensure the children remember to wash their hands immediately after using the latrine. Dangako Community Head, 50-year-old Yahaya Ibrahim explained how households in the village adopted the use of the Tippy Taps. ‘’Th e WASHCom members were effi cient in sensitizing the villagers to wash their hands with soap and water using the Tippy Taps. I constructed one near the latrine in my house as a good example for the villagers. Soon, others followed suit.
Th e villagers now have Tippy Taps in their houses and their children are always eager to use them,’’ he said. Now, everyone in Dangako village practices handwashing with soap and water before a snack at the village centre, before cooking, before and after caring for a child or sick person, and after using the latrine. Oluwatosin Akingbulu is a communication Offi cer in UNICEF
