Tippy Taps......running water - well, kind of....

A young boy activating the
tippy tap with his foot

I, Christine, went out this week to Kibati, to see what the community engagement (CE) team has been able to achieve in one of the informal camps for displaced persons. The CE team works along side Medair's Water and Sanitation (WASH) team and the health team running the Cholera Treatment Unit (CTU), where people with cholera receive treatment. Cholera is a diarrheal disease where people can die of dehydration within 24 hours if not treated.  The CE team has been working at encouraging behaviours that help prevent cholera.  

We have already talked about the life-saving Oral Rehydration stations that the CE team has put in place in these different IDP camps where Medair is serving. We now want to introduce you to "tippy taps". Water in these informal settlements is a real problem. Kibati is on the side of a large volcano with no good source of water.  Many organizations are trucking water to the camp (including Medair). But good water remains scarce. At the same time, hand-washing is crucial to the prevention of cholera. Early in the cholera response, when discussing with displaced people about the importance of washing hands to prevent cholera, our teams were told that people were happy to wash their hands but had no water and no soap. So the CE team introduced tippy taps that are activated by a foot pedal. 

A young girl using her family's tippy tap

Having tippy taps is only the beginning of the battle. People have to believe that using them will help them to prevent cholera. When I got out to Kibati on Thursday, right away I went over to one of the shelters where a Tippy Tap was hanging. I asked the child there, 'what do you do with that thing?', she told me, 'I wash my hands', and proceeded to show me how she did so. I then asked, 'why do you wash your hands?', immediately she responded, 'to prevent cholera' as if it was something I should already know. It was really great to hear that response. I then talked to other children, asking questions about why and when they washed their hands. They enthusiastically showed me how they used their tippy taps at their own shelters as well as told me exactly when they needed to wash their hands (after using the toilet, before eating, when their hands are dirty). Hearing these answers from the children, who are often seen as change agents in communities (how many of us recognize that our kids are more willing to embrace change than we as adults?), was a confirmation that the hard work of the CE teams is bearing fruit. 

Tippy taps in front of every shelter!

 Fun fact: Tippy taps are considered an 'appropriate technology'  in settings where water is scarce. We had our own tippy tap outside our latrine when we lived in a village in Benin! 

Praise:

1. Annika and Rudi's wedding was a beautiful celebration on the 27th of May

2. For being able to get much needed essential medicines and nutrition supplies in over the last few weeks.

Prayer concern: 

1. Ongoing impact of these interventions after Medair and other NGOs withdraw from the IDP camps;

2.  IDPs are still not able to return home as armed groups are still active in their home areas. Prayers for peace and a resolution to the conflict

3. For safety for Medair staff working in locations where the security situation can change rapidly