The first step for the improvement of WASH environment by refugees

Though the daylight is getting stronger day by day, the coldness in the night and morning is still severe in Zaatari camp standing on the middle of desert that extreme temperature difference.

It is getting more vital issue to promote the proper use of water and hygiene (WASH) facilities, to improve its maintenance, and change refugees’ consciousness on hygiene and health because the risk of spread of water related diseases will be higher in the hot weather.

As we introduced JEN’s activities in Zaatari refugee camp here on this blog, we support Syrian refugee to establish “WASH committee” in each module of the camp aiming to improve their water and hygiene environment. Under the WASH committee of each module, there are 12 WASH sub-committees by blocks and they work through improving the water and hygiene environment of the each block.

Today, we share how those sub-committee’s meetings are.

A WASH sub-committee has 12 members (6 males and 6 females) as the representatives of water-related issues in each block and they lead community people to use WASH facilities clean and improve their hygiene consciousness. There are some active communities where
community-volunteers clean their WASH facilities by themselves or promoting morals on common use facilities.

Currently, there are WASH committees established in 4 modules and members are 24 representatives of 12 WASH sub-committees.
They discuss on the situation and issues of water and hygiene, share activities of each module, and exchange new idea for improvement of their environment.

We expect that those activities done by WASH committees and WASH sub-committees will strengthen community in the camp and motivate refugees to participate the
activities of their environment improvements.