EWB-USA Philadelphia | Philippines Project

EWB-USA Philadelphia | Philippines Project
Engineers Without Borders USA - Philadelphia Professional Chapter | Travel Blog

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Tippy-Taps: A new sanitation approach for the community of Apatut

     Robert DiFilippo and I visited Apatut last April. One of our goals for the trip was to build a tippy-tap at the community elementary school and to present the students with effective sanitation practices. Tippy-taps were first developed by Dr. Jim Watt of the Salvation Army in Chiweshe, Zimbabwe1 and are now used in several developing countries. They also have proven to be a great solution for increasing hand washing and reducing the occurrence of diarrhea and other illnesses; especially among kids.


     Around 60 students and their parents attended the tippy-tap construction seminar at the elementary school. Zenaida Ollero and Maria Gracia Alejo, two of the school teachers, helped us organize the event and several parents helped with looking for local materials for the tippy-tap construction. The materials used for the construction were branches, bamboo, rope and a plastic container which are all readily available. The tippy-tap was built near the school playground with the intention that the students wash their hands after using the latrines and before going back to the classroom after recess.   


                                                                   
                                                     Students at the tippy-tap presentation




                                       Tippy-tap frame built with tree branches and bamboo




                                                                   Finished tippy-tap



                                     One of the teachers washing her hands with the tippy-tap


     After the construction of the tippy-tap, the students participated in a drawing competition which topic was sanitation. The teachers at the school selected the six (6) best drawings; three (3) girls and three (3) boys. We were very impressed at the students’ perception of sanitation. They drew kids brushing their teeth, washing their hands, brushing their hair and taking a bath.  Hopefully this presentation serves as a reminder of the role that sanitation has in community health and more tippy-taps will be built around the community!  



                                                       Students drawing about sanitation



                                                           One of the winning drawings








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