Success stories → Green Habitat Initiative

The Urgency of Climate Action: Why Every Individual Matters

Hauwa Ibrahim — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 11:21:03 +0000

PRESS RELEASE November 30, 2022

PR/2022

GHI Commissions I-WASH Facilities to Reduce Water-Borne Diseases and Socio-Economic Challenges in Kebbi State

On the 30th of November 2022 Green Habitat Initiative (GHI) commissioned water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in Kebbi State, under The Project for Improved Sustainability of Integrated WASH Services with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Kebbi State. The Project aims to increase sustainable access to improved and inclusive Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services in underserved schools, primary health centers and communities across Gwandu, Kalgo and Argungu LGAs in Kebbi State.

According to the Project design, the GHI has constructed 14 new Solar Powered Water facilities, rehabilitated 20 boreholes, constructed 10 new sanitation (toilets) facilities and 10 new handwashing facilities for schools, primary health centers and communities across the target areas. Consequently, the project has impacted around 46,000 beneficiaries with the provision of improved water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

Furthermore, the GHI supported State and Local government institutions as well as communities to promote safe sanitation and hygiene behavior and good water resources management. These activities were implemented through a participatory approach that leverages public and private partnerships thereby triggering all stakeholders to action and stimulating the WASH market.

The facilities were commissioned and declared open by Hajiya Aisha Usman, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning. In her speech she commended the GHI for the extensive work and impact in the WASH sector of Kebbi State. She also assured of the State Government’s support and to improving WASH services in Kebbi State.

In a similar vein, the Kundudan Kabi of Argungu LGA, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Kwaido commissioned water, sanitation and handwashing facilities constructed by GHI under the I-WASH Project in Argungu LGA. He mentioned the importance of good sanitation and hygiene behavior in preventing water-borne diseases and urged community to ensure the sustainability of these facilities.

The Chief Executive Officer of GHI, Engr. Abubakar Sadiq Gulma thanked the State Government of Kebbi State as well the communities and other relevant stakeholders for their support throughout the Project implementation. He noted that the vision to reduce water-borne diseases is now being realized in Kebbi State through the I-WASH Project and other efforts from the State Government and relevant partners in the sector. He called on the leadership structures across the stratum to lead with a strong ownership and maintenance culture for the sustainable management of these facilities that have been provided.

The post The Urgency of Climate Action: Why Every Individual Matters first appeared on Green Habitat Initiative.

Remote Monitoring of Solar Water Pumps: GHI and USAID Pioneer Innovative Pumpview System

admin — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 14:22:58 +0000

PRESS RELEASE November 30, 2022

PR/2022

GHI Commissions I-WASH Facilities to Reduce Water-Borne Diseases and Socio-Economic Challenges in Kebbi State

The post Remote Monitoring of Solar Water Pumps: GHI and USAID Pioneer Innovative Pumpview System first appeared on Green Habitat Initiative.

GHI DONATES TOOLBOXES AND MOTORCYCLES TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF WASH FACILITIES IN KEBBI AND SOKOTO STATES

admin — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 16:36:02 +0000

PRESS RELEASE November 30, 2022

PR/2022

GHI Commissions I-WASH Facilities to Reduce Water-Borne Diseases and Socio-Economic Challenges in Kebbi State

The post GHI DONATES TOOLBOXES AND MOTORCYCLES TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF WASH FACILITIES IN KEBBI AND SOKOTO STATES first appeared on Green Habitat Initiative.

Women Taking Action: The impact of gender-inclusive sanitation

admin — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 15:30:48 +0000

Left to Right: Jabbo Baba Abi, Abarta Nomau, and Hauwa Umar from Nayelwa ward in Kalgo LGA Kebbi State, Nigeria.

Green Habitat Initiative (GHI) funded by the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) is implementing the Project for Improved Sustainability of Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (I-WASH) in partnership with the Kebbi State government. This is in line with USAID’s target to increase the number of locally-led development activities to achieve improved sanitation and hygiene. The GHI I-WASH Activity aims to reduce water-borne diseases and associated socio-economic challenges through the mobilization of communities towards social behavior change.

GHI used the Community-Led Total Sanitation approach where community members play a participatory role by taking the lead in community initiatives. Supported by the Kalgo Local Government WASH unit in Kebbi State, Nigeria, they mobilized and sensitized the people of Alkarya community in December 2021 under the USAID-funded I-WASH project.

Prior to the intervention, men, women, and children were practicing open defecation. Jabbo recalls how uncomfortable she felt defecating in the open. Feces littered many areas, turning them into open defecation sites around the community, including the community entrance. Some pedestrian paths could no longer be used because they became notorious refuse dumps and defecation sites.

Other community members were uncomfortable in their homes due to the offensive smell of feces and they frequently threw up due to the nauseating atmosphere.

Three widows, Jabbo Baba Abi, Abarta Nomau, and Hauwa Umar are farmers who live in Alkarya community, Nayelwa council ward in Kalgo LGA, Kebbi State, Nigeria. They were fed up with the poor state of their community but did not know what to do. After their community was sensitized by GHI through the USAID-funded I-WASH intervention, they realized that they support their community by reinforcing the messages and plan to end open defecation developed during the meeting.

The widows who happen to be friends have taken it upon themselves to see that their community ends open defecation. They are community women who are passionate about the well-being of their community. Inspired by the desire to see their community clean and reduce the rate of water-borne diseases, they developed a simple initiative to drive the process of change in their community rather than wait for the men in Alkarya Community.

Left-Right: Jabbo Baba Abi, Abarta Nomau, a community member and Hauwa Umar during their household sensitization visits in Nayelwa ward Kalgo LGA Kebbi State, Nigeria

For these reasons, women volunteered to take action by conducting house-to-house sensitization on sanitation and hygiene. They informed the Magaji (village head) of their intention and he gave them his support to embark on the activity. Before each sensitization, they would inform the town crier to make announcements notifying households of their visits. According to Hauwa, “Whenever we are conducting our sensitization, it looks like a festive occasion because of the way households prepare for our visit”.

They managed to convince difficult households towards change by using creative strategies to convince households to construct toilets. Their unrestricted access to homes allows them to inspect women’s bedrooms, kitchens, and other places in search of evidence of poor hygiene or open defecation. They also encourage households to practice regular hand washing using soap or ash.

Now, the Alkarya community members are happy with their current sanitation status. They now breathe fresh air, have cleaned up the blocked pathways, and are constructing improved toilets. Some men confess that they are under pressure by their wives to construct a latrine for the household to protect their dignity.

During a community dialogue meeting, women and men express their gratitude to the three widows, and the USAID-funded I-WASH project implemented by GHI. The community testifies that the women have been instrumental in promoting sanitation and hygiene in their community as they now appreciate the results of living in a clean environment, the birth of fresh air, and better health.

The goal of the I-WASH project is to reduce water-borne diseases and associated socio-economic challenges. In the previous year, there was a cholera outbreak in the community leading to several deaths. The USAID-supported I-WASH project is ensuring that communities are reached with the right messages that will discourage high-risk water, sanitation, and hygiene practices while promoting positive behavior change.

The community leader is very happy with the Green Habitat Initiative who is implementing the USAID-funded I-WASH Project. He mentioned that “his community members now understand the importance of the project and are enjoying the benefits”. He is also confident that his community will be safeguarded from further outbreaks of water-borne diseases because they are committed to ending open defecation, the leading cause of cholera.

Due to the active role of these women in advancing the development of the community, they have been unanimously selected to be members of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Committee (WASHCOM), a community management structure whose responsibility is to coordinate all WASH activities in the community. This has further empowered them to continue the work of transformation as change agents and sanitation ambassadors for their community.

According to the 3 friends, they are committed “to continue facilitating community members to practice good sanitation and hygiene” through the knowledge they have gained from Green Habitat Initiative. They now have an improved latrine in their house to meet their sanitation and hygiene needs with pride and dignity. In order to ensure their initiative has a lasting impact, they engage women in neighboring communities to champion sanitation and hygiene activities.

The USAID-funded I-WASH project implemented by GHI continues to sensitize communities because it is only when community members understand the impact of an issue that they take action to end it.

The post Women Taking Action: The impact of gender-inclusive sanitation first appeared on Green Habitat Initiative.

Change Agent of Sanitation: The story of Hajo Umar

admin — Wed, 11 May 2022 17:36:27 +0000

Despite living in a clean house, life was unbearable for 53-year-old Hajo Umar who is a trader in local rice. The widow who lives in Indire community in Gotomo, Argungu LGA of Kebbi State, Nigeria was always unhappy because her community had an offensive smell from open defecation. Even the small piece of land opposite their hand-pump was not spared as it became a popular defecation spot for the villagers. The proximity to the water source also posed a high-risk factor for epidemic diseases like cholera.

“You need to work with people to achieve good sanitation and hygiene”. ~Hajo Umar

In December 2021, Green Habitat Initiative (GHI) under the United State Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Project for Integrated Sustainability of Integrated WASH Services (I-WASH) conducted sensitization activities to end open defecation in her community. Communities were facilitated by GHI and staff from the Local Government Water Sanitation and Hygiene Unit (LG WASH Unit) during a meeting to understand the negative effects of open defecation.

In the meeting, community members responded to questions from the LG WASH unit team about their sanitary behavior that made them realize that their food and water is contaminated through open defecation. They developed a plan which contained a list of activities that the community will carry out to end open defecation. Next, volunteers known as “Natural Leaders” were nominated to follow up on all households to encourage them to construct toilets and achieve their Open Defecation-Free (ODF) plan.

Every week, the LG WASH unit with support from GHI visited the communities to monitor the progress of the communities towards achieving ODF status. This activity aims to increase USAID locally-led development activities achieving increased access to sanitation and hygiene facilities.

Hajo Umar was one of the “Natural Leaders” selected by her community to ensure all households construct and use toilets. She realized that it would take communal efforts to stop people from this habit because most of the community members were involved in open defecation.

As a community volunteer, she went from house to house and mobilized her neighbors to clear the area. She explained to them the importance of ending open defecation and using toilets to prevent the spread of diseases and unpleasant smell in the environment to them.

Together, they gathered all the feces and disposed of it in a pit. Next, they set up a structure to discourage defaulters. A penalty has been placed for any parent whose child is seen defecating at Wagilawa, the open defecation site. In describing one of the major lessons she has learned, Hajo says, “You need to work with people to achieve good sanitation and hygiene”. She remains hopeful that everyone in her community will have access to a toilet and enjoy the benefits of living in a clean environment.

GHI continues to educate communities on the importance of positive sanitation and hygiene practices and empower communities to adopt sustainable behavior change.

The post Change Agent of Sanitation: The story of Hajo Umar first appeared on Green Habitat Initiative.

Moving up the Sanitation Ladder

admin — Wed, 11 May 2022 17:30:19 +0000

Right to Left: Binta from the Local Government Water Sanitation and Hygiene Unit sensitizing Abubakar at his house in Dangoma ward Kalgo LGA, Kebbi State

Runtuwo is a community in Dangoma council ward, Kalgo Local Government Area (LGA) in Kebbi State, North-Western Nigeria. It has a population of One Hundred and Ninety Four people who are predominantly farmers and masons. Open defecation was a common practice among the people because even though most households had access to a toilet, it was not properly maintained and people preferred to defecate in the open.

In December 2021, Green Habitat Initiative (GHI) under the Project for Improved Sustainability of Integrated WASH Services (I-WASH) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) visited the community. The purpose was to drive a change in the sanitation behavior of the community through a participatory process. The community was facilitated to understand the negative consequences of their poor sanitation practices and developed a set of activities described as the community plan to end open defecation.

During the community facilitation process, Abubakar Danjarida who is a member of Runtuwo community was present and fully participated during the discussions. At the end of the session, he understood why his family preferred to defecate in the open even though he already owned two pit latrines. The toilets in his house were not cleaned regularly and it was poorly used, hence the odor and flies that constantly pervaded the house. The team from GHI and the Kalgo LGA Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) unit also told them that those using a pit toilet must have a fly-proof, drop-cover to allow ventilation but prevent flies from going in or coming out of the pit.

A day after the community session, Binta, the LGA WASH unit staff responsible for conducting routine monitoring visits to his community taught his household the importance of maintaining proper hygiene and environmental sanitation. She explained to them that a toilet which is not cleaned properly can become a fixed open defecation site because of the fecal matter and make its way back to their food through flies and unwashed hands. She also told them about the different toilet options, and explained that it was like climbing a ladder. When a household moves from open defecation to using a pit latrine, they are moving up the sanitation ladder. Similarly, when they move from using a pit latrine to a ventilated improved pit, pour flush, or water cistern they are progressing towards the higher rung of the sanitation ladder.

Armed with this information, Abubakar who is building a new apartment beside his old house decided to ascend the highest level of the sanitation ladder. He bought three water cistern toilets for the new building, so that he can manage his sanitation needs with better comfort and dignity. He is happy that his new toilets are easier to clean, more comfortable and free from flies.

He remarked that “My toilets are not smelling anymore and we always keep ourselves clean. I hope all my community members can construct toilets so that we will end open defecation in our community”.

The USAID-funded I-WASH intervention implemented by GHI is increasing the number of locally-led development activities that are achieving improved results in access to sanitation and hygiene facilities. When community members move up the sanitation ladder, it shows behavior change and sustainability because they are progressing from unimproved to improved and safely managed sanitation.

The post Moving up the Sanitation Ladder first appeared on Green Habitat Initiative.