CO-WASH in schools 4 refugee&hosts in UG Project Aim:   To enhance community ability to create child friendly schools and prevent and protect themselves against WASH related diseases. To improve Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes and practices in schools through enhanced community participation.
The WASH in Schools programme works toward several related goals:
I. Effective learning - Children perform better if surrounded by a clean and hygienic environment.
II. Enrolment and retention of girls - Lack of private sanitary facilities and MHM for girls can discourage parents from sending girls to schools and contribute to the drop-out of girls, especially of adolescents. Growing girls find it difficult to attend schools that have no or a few badly maintained facilities. During their menstruation many adolescent girls tend to stay home and not return.
III. Reduced diseases - If sanitation and hygiene facilities are absent or are badly maintained and used, schools and pre-schools become health hazards.
IV. Environmental cleanliness - Proper facilities will prevent pollution of the environment and limit health hazards for the community at large.
V. Implementing Child Rights – Children from refugee communities have the right to be as healthy and happy as possible in their given circumstances. Good sanitation and hygiene practices lead to fewer diseases, better health, and better nutrition.
VI. Advocacy – To meet the national standards for WASH in Schools, which are important for ensuring that the needs of all children are met and that any national inequities of access to WASH in Schools are progressively eliminated.
4.1 Expected Outcomes
1. Enhanced access to safe water, inclusive sanitation, handwashing facilities and promote healthy physical learning environment for children in refugee settlements and refugees hosting districts.
2. Improved public health and hygiene practices among school children, their families and communities in refugee settlements and refugee hosting districts.
3. To promote household, community and government involvement for enhanced partnership in the sustainability of WASH facilities in schools.
Proposed Approach: Oxfam will adopt the 3 STAR approach for water, sanitation, and Hygiene in schools and “Child to Child”  approaches to ensure effective implementation of proposed WASH activities in School. The approach will entail working closely with children, teachers, parents, key stakeholders, and government officials.
The interventions of the WASH in schools programme are both physical (safe drinking water, inclusive, safe and dignified school toilets, water for handwashing and cleaning) and education and promotion of behavioral (handwashing, water handling, food hygiene, menstrual hygiene management (MHM), good use and maintenance of facilities, etc.).
The project will focus on reducing many existing barriers that prevent good MHM in schools and hinder girls’ access to equitable education, undermine their well-being, and prevent dignity and empowerment. These barriers include lack of accessto sanitation products and facilities, lack of social support, schools’ lack of access to consistent supplies of water, restrooms that are not MHM friendly, gender-based violence, and the stigmatization of menstruation.
The availability of clean water, adequate and inclusive sanitation and hygiene education has a profound impact on the health of children, on learning, the teaching environment, and on girls’ education. It is directly related not only to physical, mental, and social health, but ultimately to economic and political development.
The project will be executed during a 9months time frame, and jointly implemented by identified local partners and Oxfam which will provide technical support. Implementation will be primarily in refugee settlements targeting children in schools that lack WASH facilities. Focus will be placed on newly established settlements and harness opportunities share experiences, lessons and outcomes generated during implementation. Environmental conservation measures will be implemented, and gender and protectionmainstreamed in this project.