Let’s learn more about how unsanitary conditions affect school children’s education and mental health and what Domestos is doing to prioritise and improve school sanitation across South Africa.
How do Unsanitary Bathrooms Affect School Children?
Dirty, unsafe, and poorly maintained school toilets have a negative impact on children's education. Not only are the facilities unsanitary and embarrassing for kids to use, but they can also cause them to fall behind in their studies. These are the elements that studies have shown as the main effects of poor sanitation on children:
Affecting their mental health – dirty, unsanitary toilets can create a myriad of negative emotions in children such as fear, anxiety, and embarrassment which can lead to an inability to concentrate and learn. These overwhelming feelings, that young children are not equipped to deal with, also contribute to poor productivity at school and in the worst cases, dropping out.
Threat to their safety – many children in South Africa only have outhouses, pit latrines, or basic toilets at their schools which are far away from the classrooms. The children feel vulnerable and unsafe, as they have to walk far distances by themselves to use the toilet, and mostly in high crime areas.
Absenteeism for menstruating girl children – girl children would rather miss school during their cycles than access unsanitary, non-private, bathrooms. This means that every month a girl child who is menstruating could miss between 5 – 7 days of class because of poor sanitation in schools, which severely affects their ability to keep up with their peers.
Illnesses are bred – life-threatening E.Coli bacteria breed in unsanitary conditions due to the stagnation of human waste in unsanitary toilets. Couple this with the lack of clean, running water and you have a recipe for disaster. This bacteria strain can lead to severe waterborne diseases breaking out. When school kids fall ill from coming into contact with this bacteria strain, they will miss school, depriving them even further.
What is Domestos Doing to Prioritise School Sanitation in South African Schools?
Domestos deeply understands the importance of sanitation in schools and that’s why they are doing everything they can to improve the scourge of unsafe, unsanitary toilets in the country. Over the last 10 years, Domestos has provided safer toilets to over 5 million school children in South Africa through their Cleaner Toilet, Brighter Futures initiative. Here’s how they’ve done it;
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The over R25 million invested in the project has helped build safe, clean, usable bathrooms with clean, safe toilets and access to running water
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School refurbishments make old, broken, unsafe toilets safe for school children
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Educating teachers and janitors about school toilet maintenance and the effectiveness of using hygiene products like Domestos in preventing the spread of harmful germs
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National Schools Hygiene Programme roll-out to educate grade 1 learners on how to practice safe sanitation.
For more information on how to get involved in the Domestos Safer School Sanitation campaign or to request assistance, visit Domestos today.