FEATURES / ARTICLE
Bozeman non-profit has global impact |
| Bozeman’s Project WET Foundation, with the support of USAID’s Africa Education Initiative, implemented a pilot program that reached more than 30,000 schools, 175,000 teachers and five million students in 14 sub-Saharan African countries between November 2007 and September 2009. The program taught students and teachers about water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) concepts and empowered learners to adopt healthy habits.
An in-depth evaluation of the pilot project revealed numerous successes. According to Lake Victoria Primary School teacher Aggrey Oluka, students started asking, “Where is the soap?” after learning Project WET’s Hand Washing Song. Additionally, one child revealed, “since we received the materials and brought them home, our mother does not allow us to drink water that is not boiled.” At the project’s conclusion, Teddy Tindamanyire, Principal Environment Officer at the Uganda Ministry of Water and Environment, calculated that “Project WET’s innovative teaching methods improved the frequency of hand washing by pupils and teachers after using the toilet from less than 5% in June to over 38% in August 2008 at the Lake Victoria Primary School in Entebbe, Uganda.” In 2010, Project WET will scale-up its work with students and teachers in sub-Saharan Africa through the Enhancing Education in Africa project.
As a result of its successful WASH program in Africa, Project WET has received numerous requests for materials from teachers and organizations worldwide. Recently, a United Nations agency partnered with the non-profit to adapt Project WET’s WASH educational materials for teachers and students in Bolivia, Columbia, Mexico, Peru and El Salvador. The adapted WASH materials will be developed after assessing existing water education curricula in the region and by working closely with local teachers, trainers and partners to ensure cultural and educational relevance in each country. The program will focus on reaching children and teachers in the poorest urban areas.
Teaching Chinese Children about Water Conservation - In mid-January, the Project WET Foundation will launch a program in Shanghai, China through a partnership with the Ministry of Education and Nestlé Waters. The program’s goal is to bring hands-on water conservation lessons to Chinese children. A teacher training and student workshop led by the Project WET Foundation staff will kick-off the partnership. Additionally, later in 2010, Project WET will lead the Children’s Corner of the World Water Council’s Water Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo. The Shanghai Expo runs from May to October 2010, and over eight million people are expected to attend.
Increasing Afghan Children’s Environmental Awareness - The Project WET Foundation has partnered with Green House Organization, a local non-government organization, to launch Project WET in Kabul and surrounding provinces in Afghanistan. Green House Organization is committed to increasing environmental knowledge to create better lives. A successful teacher training was held in December 2009 in Kabul where Project WET’s WASH materials were introduced. Since 1984, Bozeman-headquartered Project WET, an award-winning, global non-profit organization, has dedicated itself to the mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education. To learn more, visit www.projectwet.org. •
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