Mrs. Isyiaku is a young mother from Magami village, in Sumaila local government of Kano state, Nigeria. Like many other women in her village and in fact rural Kano, water supply is a luxury good and not one they can afford especially during the dry seasons.
They drink their water directly from source, without any form of purification because, well, it looks clean to the eyes. Diarrhoea is a disease that has claimed the lives of many, young and old in her community due to the lack of potable water, no drinking water purification, and poor personal and environmental hygiene. Global One is working with the Magami community to bring about attitudinal change with respect to personal hygiene and also, teach the women and children about SODIS (SOlar DISinfection), an easy and cost efficient way of purifying their drinking water in order to reduce and in the long run, eradicate the occurrence of diarrhoea amongst them. We understand that attitudinal change is not achieved overnight, and with the community, we are working gradually towards inculcating the attitude of handwashing, environmental sanitation and drinking water purification in their daily routine. This would help reduce the occurrence of water borne diseases. As part of the move to effect attitudinal change towards water, sanitation and hygiene in the community, Global One partnered with Lighthouse humanitarian foundation, a local NGO, to deliver 2 sets of trainings in June and July. The trainings were aimed at educating the women and children on the importance of regular handwashing, a clean environment and treating their drinking water. This training so far, has been delivered to about 100 women and 200 children from the Magami community. The trainings were well received as the women and children has lots of questions about water related diseases and alternatives to soap for handwashing. The aim of these trainings is to reduce the occurrence of water borne diseases and eradicate deaths as a result.
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