“Equity of access to clean water, sanitation and quality education for the pupils of the Saint Charles Primary School in Fianarantsoa”

According to the World Bank, access to basic water and sanitation services in Madagascar suffers from severe inequalities and low-quality services. Only 54.4% of the population has access to basic water services, and only 12.3% of the population has access to basic sanitation services. In the rural areas of the Country, the situation is even worse: only 36% of the rural population has access to improved water sources and only 10% of the population uses basic sanitation facilities. Madagascar is at the bottom of the list of 76 developing Countries with the lowest access to basic sanitation. The province of Fianarantsoa is considered one of the poorest in Madagascar. Out of 200.000 inhabitants of Fianarantsoa, statistics show that only 54% have access to clean water in the urban area and the rate of latrine use is 77%. The data shows that schools have to make a big effort to overcome the problem of water and sanitation. Water-related diseases can be prevented by providing and sustaining safe water, sanitation and hygiene services. Ensuring universal and equitable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services, the provision in places such as schools must be considered, taking into account the specific need of children. The school of Saint Charles wants to ensure access to clean water and sanitation service at the standard level. The project aims to improve access to clean water in the school, as public service provision is not reliable. The need for hygienic facilities in Saint Charles School is therefore a priority. In addition to the situation described above, on February 21^st 2023, the cyclone “FREDDY” made landfall north of Mananjary, a coastal town of Madagascar. This cyclone impacted mostly the southern part of Madagascar. It brought less rain than feared but still ripped roofs off buildings and flattened rice fields and fruit trees. It brought fewer rains compared to other cyclones, but the winds were stronger, this is why private and public infrastructures were destroyed, mainly in the east-coast at the entry point of the cyclone. Strong winds removed the roof of several houses in the district of Manajary, Ambositra and Fianarantsoa. The reported damage is mostly related to the wind. Families left their houses and gathered in gymnasium and other temporary shelters set by the government to protect people’s lives. The project consists of providing support to the Saint Charles school to repair the damages caused by FREDDY cyclone. Saint Charles School is located in the southern part of Madagascar in Fianarantsoa which was in the path of the cyclone. According to the report of the school director, the damage in the school can be counted by falling ceilings and gutters, broken windows and some metal sheets from the roof were removed. Schools in the region are closed until further instructions from the government to reopen. Bad weather with rain is still covering the area, though the dangerous cyclone moved away from the Country. The support is to offer an aid to repair the damages in the school where 441 children in the primary section of Saint Charles school are waiting for the reopening of their classrooms. The above cited situation is the reason of request of urgent need. It is to be noted that the aging of the infrastructures of the school is also the easy cause of damage once there is the passage of such cyclone.

Aim of the project:

The Project aims to guarantee better health and education conditions to the beneficiaries through the construction of new toilet facilities, the provision of permanent water through the purchase of a water tank and better-renovated classrooms, which were already in very poor condition that further deteriorated as a result of Cyclone that hit the area.

The Project is designed to deliver the following results:

• Improving the sanitary and hygiene conditions of the students at Saint Charles Primary School in Fianarantsoa.
• Ensuring the safety of children and maintaining an environment conducive to school learning through infrastructure maintenance.
• Assist the urgent need of the school to repair the major damages and allow the schooling of the 441 children to be run in normal environment for learning and teaching. In that way, the school will be helped to offer a more normal teaching after the passage of the cyclone. In the short-term result, their basic needs will be attended despite the major maintenance that the school still need in the early future.