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CLTS blog posts

Re-Launching the ODF Rural Kenya by 2013 Campaign

It is not even one year since the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MOPHS) the launched the Open Defection Free Rural Kenya by 2013 campaign. So why the re-launch? Upon reflection, it was clear to key institutional champions within the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, SNV and UNICEF that not much had happened since the launch in May 2011. As one of the senior officers in the MOPH put it, “…a lot had been assumed after the launch e.g.

campaign, government
Samuel Musyoki
3

Tackling fear and scepticism: advice and examples from CLTS trainings in South Sudan

Mapping in YambioMapping in YambioOne of the challenges that I often experience when conducting trainings is the fear that CLTS is not an ideal approach for post emergency countries like South Sudan. This fear is commonly expressed by participants attending a training for the first time. Most of the time this objection is made in good faith, but it generally turns out to be a hypothetical fear, not rooted in any real life experiences in the field.

training, triggering
Philip Otieno

Handwashing: Part and parcel of CLTS?!

Handwashing in Mutara, MozambiqueHandwashing in Mutara, MozambiqueRecently we have had a very lively debate about a number of key issues, so rather than keeping those discussions limited to emails flying back and forth between a few people, I am going to share them here.

behaviour change, handwashing, verification
Jolly Ann Maulit, Petra Bongartz, Philip Otieno, Robert Chambers, Samuel Musyoki

'Funerals and sanitation in Africa are closely related': personal reflections on taking CLTS back to our own communities

It feels like more than a year since I blogged. No sooner did I come back to work on the 9th January 2012 than was I forced by circumstances to take compassionate leave to be with my mother and family after our dear sister (my immediate follower) passed on. It was painful but we are adjusting to the loss. Funerals and sanitation in Africa are closely related. We could not help but quickly agree with my family that with the influx of many people coming to console the family and to attend the burial itself, that we needed do something.

Mourning periods in Kenya last for long.

behaviour change, the case for sanitation
Samuel Musyoki

No more shit! Celebrating community achievements in Mulanje

As part of CLTS, communities are recognized for their efforts and commitment to attaining Open Defecation Free (ODF) status. They are commemorated with a large ODF celebration, rewarding communities for playing a dedicated role in improving their sanitation and hygiene practices, and truly taking ownership over their health.

Plan Malawi in partnership with the Mulanje District health and sanitation stakeholders, had successfully implemented CLTS and supported their communities in becoming ODF.

celebration, EWB
Tessa Roselli

Challenges and hope for CLTS in South Sudan

Triggering in YambioTriggering in YambioUNICEF and Plan South Sudan are working together to roll out CLTS in South Sudan. I have been supporting them to build capacity for CLTS implementation since April 2011. So far, a total of 5 trainings has been conducted in 5 states, namely Central Equatoria, Jonglei, Upper Nile, Western Equatorial and Western Bhar El Gazel. The trainings have targeted Plan and UNICEF staff and their partners, such as the line ministries and the national NGOs being supported by UNICEF.

dependency culture, post-emergency, women
Philip Otieno

Discrimination, duties and low hanging fruit:Reflections on equity

The equity day at the WSSCC Global Forum in Mumbai (October 2011) made a deep impact on me. I am ashamed to admit this. I should not have needed this. I have been banging on about ‘putting the last first’ for years, but the fuller implications of this with sanitation only came home to me on this day. Thank you those who came and shared their experiences with us –rehabilitated manual cleaners, slum dwellers, disabled, minorities… and Louisa Gosling, Archana Patkar and Nomathemba Neseni and who pulled scales from my eyes.

equity, MDGs
Robert Chambers

Campaigns for total sanitation with CLTS- can you add?

Dear Colleagues in CLTS and sanitation

Please help fill what I think is an important gap which becomes more important by the day.

Over 40 countries are implementing CLTS. Campaigns are in full swing or starting in many of these. Campaigns – whether national, regional, district or subdistrict, or any combination of these – are vital and central to success. But there is no single source book for them. Can we between us produce one? It needs a pooling of ideas and experience.

campaign, scaling up
Robert Chambers

Backspace vs delete

A few weeks ago..

I sat beside Phalombe’s District Water Supervisor in his office today, my computer fully charged in anticipation to facilitate another computer lesson on Microsoft Excel. He had committed to working on computer lessons twice a week with me in hopes of improving his technical skills on inputting, analyzing, interpreting and making decisions with the district’s water point data.

He pulls up a chair beside mine and we re-cap on the computer functions and techniques we had gone through during our previous lesson.

Africa, EWB, government, innovation, sanitation marketing
Tessa Roselli

Let's talk about shit!

Our Clear Voices Channel 4

What a way to mark the World Toilet Day (19th November 2011) it was. After working with colleagues to have our clear voices put through different media channels, I could only keep track online. I had to ask a colleague to step in for the Good Morning Kenya TV talk show as it was moved to the morning of the day I had to travel. On the 18th November 2011, just before I set off to Jomo Kenya International Airport I had an opportunity to attend a children concert entitled, “Our Clear Voices: Channel 4”, organized by the school my 7 year old daughter attends.

Africa, children, events, media, the case for sanitation, urban
Samuel Musyoki

Ending Open Defecation to Save Lives: World Toilet Day 2011 in Kenya

The last one month we have been really busy gearing up for the World Toilet Day. This is the fifth year running that Plan International Kenya will be celebrating World Toilet Day. As usual we celebrate this day on the ground where villages have attained Open Defecation Free (ODF) status. The first (2007), second (2008) and third (2009) year we celebrated in Kilifi, the 4th (2010) in Homa Bay County. This year the celebrations will be in Siaya County.

There are many activities in the week leading up to the climax on the 19th November.

Africa, events, Plan, the case for sanitation
Samuel Musyoki

Global Handwashing Day Celebrations in Mathare

Mathare community joined the rest of the world in celebrating Global Handwashing Day in Mathare on 15th October 2011. The day was marked at Kiboro Primary school where about 400 community members from Mathare Valley gathered to wash their hands together. The event was strategically organized at a school to attract the participation of children and the theme was Wash your hands and save your life. The event that started at 10am was celebrated with entertainment, a community Baraza (meeting), roadside hand washing of passengers and distribution of IEC materials on WASH.

Africa, events, urban
Rose Nyawira

A passionate family: Reflections on the WSSCC Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene

This was the first ever Global Forum on Sanitation and Hygiene. There have been the regional meetings – Sacosans, Africasans and so on, but never one for the whole developing world. WSSCC (and most notably Archana Patkar, who got a standing ovation at the end) did a great job in imaginative and thorough planning. The facilitation by Archana, Barbara Evans and others was outstanding. WSSCC had brought together some 450 of us. There was fuller representation of Africa than usual, and fewer Indians than one might have expected.

behaviour change, equity, events, inclusion, scaling up, urban, WSSCC
Robert Chambers
8

Harnessing GIS Mapping and Social Media for Better Sanitation & Hygiene in Informal Settlements

I know it is close to two months since I blogged last. To be precise it was just after the AfricaSan3 either early or Mid August. Since my last post quite a number of things have happened including sharing with my peers from the Region of Eastern and Southern Africa about the CLTS work Plan International has been doing in Kenya and the region.

GIS, government, innovation, urban
Samuel Musyoki

Inspiring to act and breaking the mould at the WSSCC Global Forum in Mumbai

The WSSCC Forum in Mumbai has been simply amazing. I do not regret having set aside time to come and thanks to Robert and Petra for the encouragement and support. I have been on the move a lot since July 2011. I arrived here on Sunday 9th 2011 around 4am. The inauguration was amazing and really colourful. We had a taste of Indian culture through music, drumming and dance. However, looking around the hall I could not tell if people enjoyed the music or not.

behaviour change, events, GIS, urban, WSSCC
Samuel Musyoki

Top tips for writing a contribution to the CLTS blog

Thinking about contributing to the blog but not quite sure how? Here are some tips and guidelines for blogging

Petra Bongartz

Passion, energy and commitment

You have asked me for impressions of the past two weeks – the pre-AfricaSan CLTS workshop, AfricaSan 3 itself, and then the workshop on taking CLTS to scale with quality in Kenya.

I was hugely encouraged by the pre-workshop. About 65 people had come a day early, eating into their weekend, in order to come and share and learn. Close to 20 countries were represented, and we had senior government figures as well as NGO people and others from international agencies.

Africa, GIS, government, Kenya, Map Mathare, mapping, MDGs, menstrual hygiene, scaling up, urban, verification
Robert Chambers

AfricaSan, urban CLTS and some promising connections

I have just been to the AfricaSan’s conference in Kigali, Rwanda. Upon arrival at the Kigali International Airport, I couldn’t help but start comparing with the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, in Nairobi Kenya. I had heard a lot about how clean Kigali is. A colleague already started telling me how they had disallowed the use of plastic bags in Rwanda. It is quite a drive from the airport to the city. This gave me an opportunity to look out and get an impression of the state of cleanliness.

GIS, government, Map Mathare, MDGs, urban
Samuel Musyoki

Excitement and Learning at AfricaSan 3

What better way to start off this new CLTS blog than with the excitement and buzz from AfricaSan 3, which took place in Kigali last week? We had four intense days of learning, networking and sharing experiences with many of the over 900 delegates that attended the conference.

Even in the run up to the conference it was clear that CLTS in Africa has come a long way since the last AfricaSan in Durban in February 2008.

children, GIS, government, menstrual hygiene, monitoring, Natural leaders, post-emergency, scaling up, SLTS, urban
Petra Bongartz

Welcome to the new CLTS blog

This is a new space for sharing reflections, ideas, experiences, opinions, innovations, challenges, questions and inspirations in an easy and informal way. We hope you will find it useful and enjoy the possibilities for further networking, connecting and interacting with other CLTS and sanitation practitioners across the globe that a blog can open up! Do let us know what you think!

We welcome your contributions and would be thrilled to see you become a regular blogger.

Petra Bongartz