Susan Karungi, Education Advisor for SNV Uganda, uses a school sanitation project to illustrate “how the dependency syndrome is crippling Uganda’s progress”.
“Last year I witnessed proceedings of a joint session of a school management committee (SMC) and a parents-teacher association (PTA) aimed at formulating a work plan for the improvement of school sanitation”.
“The leader of the team presented the plan indicating the resources that would be required to finish a latrine stance for girls; including erecting a screen wall; plus who would deliver (read donate the materials). [...] Typically and unsurprisingly, the list did not have the parents and the community at large as potential donors to this small school project”.
“The issue of poor school sanitation facilities is a serious one with most districts in the country posting horrendous stance: pupil ratios of 1:150; against the national standard 1:40. You do the maths and tell me how long a pupil needs to wait to use the available facility at the school. It was indeed gratifying that the school management had decided to tackle this problem at this particular school”.
“My concern is that communities are always looking outside for support without looking internally for practical solutions”.
By posing a few simple questions at the meeting, Ms. Karungi made those present realise that they could use their own resources – local materials – to construct the latrine screen walls.
Read the full article: Daily Monitor online, 18 Jun 2008
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