Support for the improvement of water sanitation

In June we reported that JEN completed a needs survey at over 3,681 schools all around Jordan. This report shows JEN’s activities after that.

Jordan’s local communities receiving refugees outside the refugees’ camps are called “host communities”. One of JEN’s internal groups, which supports Jordan’s host communities, analyzed the result of the above needs survey together with UNICEF and divided the country’s schools into four categories. In addition, the number of support targets this time had to be narrowed down to 113 from 1,200 schools with rapid support in need.

*1 In Jordan, UNICEF takes the lead in the support activities in the field of water sanitation. UNICEF aims at coordinating these activities with international and local NGOs through grasping which institution is doing what and where (both in refugees’ camps and in host communities). It also sets quality standards and shares them with the support institutions.
*2 The needs analysis is carried out in accordance with “Sphere Standards”, an international standard for support, and is adjusted to the situation of the recipient country. “Sphere Standards” is to be considered by all the support institutions conducting humanitarian assistance. The standards set out in the field of water sanitation include “How much water should be available for a student” and “How many toilets are in need for how many students”.

In the school selection, JEN sets certain conditions and checked if each school meets the conditions with the Ministry of Education and the Bureau of Education in the local governments. The conditions include “The school building is owned by the Ministry of Education”, “The number of students and the proportion of Syrian refugees”, “The school has the space for construction” and “No support overlap with other institutions”. It took as long as three to four weeks to obtain an official approval as the recipient school from the Ministry of Education.

Through the process like this, JEN is now preceding the repair and construction of water sanitation facilities in the officially approved 97 schools in Jordan’s 11 governorates. Since it was during summer vacation and students were absent from school, JEN has completed the repair of water sanitation facilities in nearly 60 schools, and has finished 70% of new toilet constructions.

It seems that in Jordan’s public schools, toilets for girls and boys are painted in bright purple and blue, respectively.

In Jordan, guardians have a strong tendency not to let their children organize the water sanitation facilities in the schools. Many students, girls in particular but some boys as well, never use school toilets because they are not clean enough. A lack of organization results in even dirtier toilets. Moreover, in some schools, teachers decide, by their own discretion, that certain number of toilets and faucets are unnecessary and lock them so as not to be used by the students. The rights of the students are not sufficiently secured.

Reflecting this situation, from next September, when the new semester starts, JEN’s sanitation promotion staffs will start sanitation education activities in the country’s 113 schools, including the above-mentioned 97 schools. This activity aims to continuously improve the sanitary environment for schools and students. It will also instruct teachers, students, and guardians on the importance of implementing proper sanitation habits and students’ right to clean water, and the awareness of maintaining clean sanitation facilities and preserving water.

This activity is carried out thanks to the cooperation of UNICEF as well as JEN’s supporters.

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