Washing Facilities Support Safe and Nutritious School Meals for Children in Rwanda
Tags: Rwanda, Africa, Development, Nutrition, School Feeding

In addition, girls’ rooms were constructed in 33 HGSF-supported schools, providing a private space for female students to shower and change sanitary pads without fear of embarrassment in front of peers during menstruation.

Many teenage girls in Rwanda stay at home one or two days each month during their periods as schools often lack a private and sanitary place. The girls’ rooms represent a broader effort of the HGSF programme to increase regular attendance at school and improve school sanitation measures.

In addition, teachers are trained on how to provide guidance to female students on what to expect from menstruation and how to handle these challenges. “I am very thankful for the girl’s room as it will provide my 15-year-old daughter, Sarah, with a safe and sanitary place during her period. Now she can stay at school and enjoy greater privacy,” said Seraphine Mukanyarwaya, a mother of a student attending Bwama Primary School.

Prior to the recent renovations, 32 percent of supported schools did not have access to running water. Now with the support of the HGSF programme, 20 schools now have direct water pipeline access. This will not only enable better access for students to fresh drinking water but will also support access for the surrounding community, improving overall health and hygiene.

Without access to drinking water, many schools in Rwanda asked students bring water each day for drinking and for the preparation of school meals.

“Some children woke up as early as 5:30 to first walk an hour to fetch water and go back home before spending another 25 minutes walking to school,” said Vanantie Mukahigiro, Head Teacher of Kibirizi Primary School.

The new water pipeline connection at Kibirizi is expected to drastically reduce the time students spend walking to school and to greatly improve attendance and reduce tardiness among students who might have otherwise had longer commutes to fetch water.

Benefits of the new water pipeline facilities are not only felt at school but across the wider community. In Dunhunga Cell, the area surrounding Ruhinga Primary School, more than 4,000 people also benefitted from the connection of the water pipeline to the school.

“The pipeline will bring about an overall improvement in community health as our water used to come from marshlands that were contaminated with worms resulting in frequent illness among community members. We hope to expand the pipeline to the rest of the community” said Evariste Murangira, Executive Secretary of Dunhunga Cell.

To improve nutrition among students at HGSF schools, kitchen gardens were established as a way for children to learn more about good nutrition habits.

Seeds to grow better nutrition

Seeds grown in the Kibirizi Primary School’s kitchen garden are shared with parents to ensure nutritious meals at home as well as in school. Photo: WFP/Vanantie Mukahigiro

Primary schools like Kibirizi share seedlings grown in their new kitchen gardens with parents, allowing them to grow vegetables at home as well.

Seedling sharing with families was particularly welcomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many families in vulnerable areas across Rwanda where the programme is implemented experienced significant economic shocks.

“We were so thankful to receive the seedlings from the school garden as they allowed us to prepare nutritious food at home at a difficult time,” said Anastase Nsanzimana, president of Kibirizi Primary School parent teacher association.

Since the start of the programme in 2016, regular attendance in HGSF-supported schools has risen from 92 to 95 percent and student absenteeism due to illness has reduced from seven percent to less than one percent.

Bwama Primary School has recorded a decline in student dropouts from 10 to 2 percent in the same period. New WASH facilities will further entrench gains made in recent years. With improved water, sanitation and hygiene, HGSF-supported schools can ensure school meals are safe and boost educational outcomes.