Advocacy in Cotonou’s Neighborhoods Galvanizes the PTA to Take Action

Over the past few months, WASHplus through implementing partner ABMS/PSI has stepped up advocacy for latrine improvement in several public schools. One school, with a student population of 1,500, has four latrine blocks that are unusable because they are full. Even though WASHplus/ABMS and school officials successfully lobbied the Ministry of Education for a $200 line item for pit emptying, the urgency of the situation prompted the PTA to front the money and hire a pit empying service soon thereafter. The head of the PTA explained that joint meetings called by WASHplus/ABMS field staff to bring the group of teachers, the school director, and PTA members to the actual site of the latrine blocks and expose them to the extreme contamination “Woke us up.” WASHplus is supporting development of a sustainable usage and maintenance plan along with installation of handwashing facilities and possible additional latrine construction. Read the full story.