Netsanet

Netsanet Abebe is the principal of Omedla School in the Lideta area of Addis Ababa. The middle- and lower-income neighborhood is comprised of families who want the best for their kids and are involved in the school. Before Omedla, Netsanet worked at a different school that Splash partnered with, so when Splash reached out to begin work at Omedla, she was very pleased.

Before Splash came to Omedla, water was only available once a week and it was not clean or safe to drink. Students faced real challenges with their health and well-being. Handwashing is another aspect that has improved since Splash began working at Netsanet's school. She says:

"Handwashing is a simple but effective way to prevent the spread of germs and diseases. Obviously, I was aware of this fact before working Splash, but I did not realize how much more I could learn from their trainings. The trainings were not only informative, but also engaging and interactive. They helped me and my colleagues to adopt a positive attitude towards handwashing and to promote it among our students. The trainings also emphasized the importance of handwashing at home, not just at school, and encouraged us to share this message with our families and communities. As a result, I have noticed a significant improvement in the hygiene and health of both staff and students.

One of the things that I liked most about the trainings was the follow-up sessions that Splash provided. They showed that they cared about our progress and feedback, and that they wanted to support us in implementing what we learned. They also gave us an opportunity to share our experiences, challenges and solutions with other trainees. This was very helpful, as I learned a lot from my peers and felt inspired by their stories. I have attended other trainings in the past, but none of them offered such a comprehensive and continuous learning experience as Splash did."

Teachers at Omedla School have established a Hygiene Club, included Splash's hygiene messaging into their curriculum, and provide refresher trainings every quarter.

At the beginning, Netsanet and her staff encountered a few hiccups with the maintenance of the Splash equipment. They brought their concerns to Splash, and the Splash team began providing operations and maintenance trainings for school janitors. Now, they are managing the upkeep of the equipment on their own.

Another key part of Splash's intervention is menstrual health education. Netsanet says:

"We have observed a lot of changes in our students since Splash came to Omedla. They have learned how to save water and about menstrual hygiene. The girls have learned that periods are not a curse but a blessing.

I grew up with my grandparents and my cousin didn’t know what to do when her period came. She used to go to a dark room in the house and use paper/tissue to clean up and when I saw the pile of paper/tissue at the corner of the dark room, I knew she was on her period. She told us she didn’t know what was happening and thought she may have hurt her legs. So, the students being aware of menstrual hygiene makes a huge impact not only for students growing up without mothers but everyone.

It really means a lot to know what to do and where to go. Students have also stopped missing classes when they are on their periods."

We have also seen the ripple effect of continuously flowing safe water into the school's feeding program. Omedla's feeding program has boosted enrollment and reduced absenteeism among children. Most of the employees of the program are mothers of kids at the school, so they are able to generate additional income for their families. They report that the clean water available directly at the school has lessened their burden of carrying clean water from distant places.

Having seen the impact of Splash at multiple schools, Netsanet hopes that this good work will be promoted so that more children at more schools can enjoy transformed WASH.