Connecting The Dots For Clean Water
Your generous contributions last year in support of Making Futures Bright to close out the holiday season are doing exactly that in schools in Honduras. Brighter futures are on the horizon for the 4,677 girls and boys in the 52 schools participating in Cova’s school Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program where safe water is provided, basic sanitation is improved, and hygiene education is delivered to students.
Students learn at a young age to connect the dots (literally, at first, dragging pencils between numbers on the page), to recognize patterns and repetition (think, one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish!), and intuitively learn how to predict outcomes through play (duck, duck, goose, anyone?). And while these trivial exercises surely help students develop logical reasoning skills, another simple and logical pattern reveals itself time and again in the rural community schools in Honduras where Cova collaborates for clean water:
Safe water at school is directly connected to education outcomes!
Access to safe water and sanitation prevents waterborne diseases and reduces the spread of illness. This allows children to be healthier, and when children are healthy, they have more time and energy to learn and perform better in school.
The dots? They connect.
Connecting these dots and seeking to repeat this very pattern drives Cova’s school WASH initiatives. It’s a pretty important pattern and one that we look forward to seeing replicate through our most recent water system installation in the Planes Tierra Colorada, Honduras community school of Tesora Infantil — Children’s Treasure. (Children are a treasure – we couldn’t agree more!).
A shortage of water here means the costly community pumping system operates for just two hours every two days and, in the summer, the frequency is even less. The combination water system installed by Cova in collaboration with the parent’s council means the holding tank can be filled when water is available, is treated through the contained system, and is consistently available for consumption and food preparation for the 104 girls and boys who attend the school. The pattern repeats!
The impact of safe water in schools is not contained inside classrooms. It serves as a catalyst for healthier families and communities and futures.
Together, let’s continue to connect the dots.
“I am happy that the students we teach will grow up aware of the importance of safe water, of proper sanitation, and equipped to care for the planet.”
– Oneida Lara, Cova School WASH Program Coordinator