Safe toilets in schools: Equitable education for girls and improved health in Haiti

The importance of sanitation facilities

Although boys and girls start their education at the same rate, the lack of adequate sanitation facilities contribute to teenage girls dropping out of school. The absence of clean drinking water and menstrual hygiene management, combined with the lack of proper latrines, makes education more difficult for girls, who are prone to repeated absences that compromise their academic performance. Safe, clean toilets and access to water for drinking and handwashing are essential for girls to remain in school.

Ongoing projects in Dondon and Saint-Michel de l’Attalaye

In response to this health crisis, concrete solutions are being put in place thanks to the Roncalli International Foundation. Sister Mimose Saintilbert is overseeing the construction of new sanitary facilities at two schools, including toilets and handwashing stations.

At the École Nationale Congréganiste St-Joseph (Saint-Joseph national congregational school) in Dondon, which serves 445 girls, the unsanitary conditions endanger students’ health. The Roncalli Foundation is supporting the construction of a modern, standard-compliant sanitary block, with funding of $34,164. The Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Vallier contributed the difference to complete this project, which will indirectly benefit 3,800 people in the community.

A similar project is taking place at the Saint-Michel de l’Attalaye mission, which includes a preschool, primary, and secondary school that accommodate 657 students, of which 607 are girls. The sanitation facilities were severely outdated, and due to inadequate hygiene, children often missed school, primarily by contracting preventable illnesses. But that’s no longer the case, thanks to this $47,800 project which will indirectly benefit 5,500 people. It received funding of $34,825 from the Roncalli Foundation and additional sums from the same religious congregation.