PROJECT REPORT
Name of Organization: Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation.
Project Title/Name: Support Community Sanitary complex in Southeast, Nigeria.
Focus Country: Nigeria.
Project Locations: Southeast, Nigeria.
Focus Area: Rural Water Supply and Sanitation
Project Type: Direct service, Street based Project
Proponent: Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation
Address Klm 1 Eke-Ahiara Junction, Umuofor Nnarambia
Ahiara, Ahiazu Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria
BRANCH OFFICE: 88 Murtala Muhammed way,
Yaba, Ebute Metta, Lagos.
EMAIL: support@samonyemaechihumanitarian.org
WEBSITE: https://www.samonyemaechihumanitarian.org
Introduction;
Nigeria remains one of the countries wherein converted efforts are still required to eliminate the practice of open defecation. In rural areas like Southeast, open defecation, though reduced in scale largely continues to be a socially and culturally accepted traditional behaviour. The provision of sanitation facilities through public toilet complexes is the most suitable option for those who cannot afford individual toilets for monetary reasons or due to lack of space, and opt for open defecation. Such complexes are a useful and valuable option at public places, markets, taxi stands, etc., where a large congregation of people takes place. The Community Sanitary Complex (CSC) fosters the cognitive development of healthy sanitation practices in the community.
Also, in villages, people generally defecate near the source of water, which contaminates water bodies resulting in even greater infection through use of that water for various purposes such as drinking, cooking, bathing, washing. The health consequences of such actions are clearly visible amongst villagers in the form of high and repeated cases of illness, especially diarrhoeal diseases, which lead to loss of working days affecting the earning potential of the affected person and thus the economic productivity of the village as a whole. The problem is most acute for children, women and young girls. Children, especially those under five, are most prone to diarrhoea which can sometimes prove fatal. The effect of a child falling ill in early life is visible later in the form of inadequate physical and cognitive development. Loss of school days is another problem in times of illness. In the case of women, lack of sanitation facilities often forces them to restrict themselves by reducing and controlling their diet, which leads to nutritional and health impacts. As they have restricted mobility in many cultures, it further reduces access to facilities or open defecation areas distant from home. Women, especially adolescent girls, face risks of sexual assault when they are looking for privacy to defecate.
Executive Summary:
The CSCs that the Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation is planning to build in rural areas will serve two purposes: providing a livelihood in the selected districts during the pandemic, and sanitation facilities to the ‘left out’ or new families until they can make their individual household latrines (IHHLs). Members pointed out that ‘CSC’ is an all-encompassing term that includes public and community toilets that have different usage characteristics.
• By Public Toilets, it is implied that these are to be provided for the floating population/general public in places such as markets, train stations, tourist places, near office complexes, or other public areas where there are considerable number of people passing by.
• By Community toilets, it is implied that a shared facility provided by and for a group of residents or an entire settlement. Community toilet blocks are used primarily in low-income and/or informal settlements / slums, where space and/or land are constraints in providing a household toilet. These are for a more or less fixed user group
Therefore, the Operation and Maintenance of community or public toilets could become a problem as these facilities are used by many, but not owned by the users. Their (O&M) approaches will also be different. Because of a diffused sense of ownership of public toilets, no one is willing to take responsibility for maintenance nor can people be held accountable for the O&M of the facility. If the number of daily users is low, the per capita cost of maintaining the facility can be high. In turn Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation will find it difficult to finance O&M. There are socio-cultural issues in the use of community toilets because of caste and class distinctions. Several studies have indicated people in rural areas have a marked aversion to the use of common sanitation facilities. People without individual household latrines (IHHLs) do not use them, preferring to defecate in the open instead. From our findings so far, only five per cent rural households lacking a IHHL used a shared latrine. There is an aversion to conducting a private act (defecation) in a public facility.
Community toilets are shared by a fixed group of households. It is possible, in urban areas, to organise them into a user committee to manage the toilet through subscriptions and user fees. Dense urban settlements are conducive to this arrangement since there is no space for IHHLs. However, in rural areas where houses may be scattered and IHHLs more common, this arrangement may not work. To address these problems, Sam Onyemaechi will be the agency responsible. For community toilets, user committees who will manage the facility need to be set up. Since it is a public property, users fail to maintain it with the same care as with individual toilets.
Therefore, at the implementation stage, active involvement of the community to undertake maintenance should be assured. There should be some person or institution responsible for its maintenance; this caretaker who will maintain the facility needs to be paid. In addition, the maintenance of the facility involves other costs, like water, cleaning material, etc., all of which will incur regular costs. Also, someone should monitor the maintenance regularly. This system has to be put in place by creating awareness and motivation among the local communities and the organization.
Organizational Background
Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ started in the year 2012, officially registered September 7, 2017. Joined GlobalGiving community May 29, 2021, with a vision to foster the cognitive development of healthy sanitation practices in the community. As an “away-from-home” toilet room, to provide far more than access to the toilet for urination and defecation. In the first 3 months of its operations, ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ did a rapid assessment in the region to discover a dearth of serious, structured interventions with young and aged people in the area. The team from ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ visited more than 20 rural communities and several NGO functionaries operating in the area to learn about the involvement of youth and adult in social initiatives in the area. In these visits, most of the principals, teachers and social workers voiced a need to build leadership among young people on social issues and motivate them to take up social action initiatives. The educators expressed their concerns and difficulties involved in mobilizing young people for social action initiatives.
In the same period, a team from ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ participated in the ‘Change Makers program’ that was conducted jointly by The Nonprofit council with the aim of understanding the current community development initiatives of other NGOs across Nigeria. During this phase the team studied the program design and the community mobilization methods of these NGOs. The team also underwent a one year long mentoring and handholding under this program. In the process, the team also participated in a several learning programs with several NGOs working on community issues from across the nation. In these sessions, the team interacted with more than 12 NGOs and their several community leaders working in different parts of the country.
Equipped with an understanding of local issues and an understanding of the best practices of NGOs from across the country, ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ started conducting basic life skill and active citizenship programs in communities in Southeast. The program was named ‘change for life’. These workshops caught the interest of educators and students alike and they welcomed ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ team to conduct repeat workshops on several issues in 15 communities with around 8,367 in attendant. This program also had an indirect outreach of another 4200 people. ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ also initiated a pilot program named ‘Metamorphosis’ that involved families in community outreach program. This program involved around 10,600 farmers from 15 different communities in the area. In the same period, ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ conducted two parent counseling workshops in two different communities to discuss the issues of their children. This program titled ‘Parenting and grassroots child-care' helped us put forward our standpoints and increased our acceptance with parents who are the prime decision makers for their children
Now in its second year of operation, ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ has started conducting life skill and active citizenship workshops in 10 additional Communities. This program so far had a direct outreach of 2700 families. Parenting and grassroots child-care has been conducted in two new Communities in the year. Currently, ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation is actively working with 23 communities in Southeast working on different issues in different communities. In order to give a push to these projects, 'Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ has identified the need for:
a) Help the vulnerable improve and maintain a healthy and independent lifestyle and to maximize their quality of life.
b) Starting of 2 Resource Centers in southeast to address the needs of farmers
a) Resource Centers for youth to learn vocational skills.
b) Resource and Empowerment Centers for farmers to equip them with skills in farming.
Vision and Goal
The vision and goal of Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian foundation is to fosters the cognitive development of healthy sanitation practices in the community.
Core values
Involving people, applying knowledge and making things happen. We take as our Motto “Peace, social justice, diversity, fun and democracy as key values” which guide us.
Organizational Structure
‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ is registered as a Trust with Mr. AKARAONYE Samuel, Engr. Greg Ntiwunka, Mr. Joseph Ehioma and Ms. James Rosita Nkeiruka as the Board of Trustees. The ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ Team is currently led by Chief Augustine Anyanwu and comprises of Mr. Dominic Anyanwu, Ms. Agnes Bassey, Mr. Ezekiel Uche, Ms. Anthonia Chuke etc.
Our Prospects
The project was to prepare a prototype design and a manual for Community Sanitary Complexes (CSCs) to be built across Rural Southeast. A public toilet need not be the dirty place that everyone imagines it to be, even a toilet can be attractive. Most importantly we believe that a clean and attractive space will change people’s perception towards toilets. Through the design, goal is to signify the importance of toilet, hygiene and sanitation in the rural.
Economy of construction: Cost of construction is moderate. Choice and specifications of materials are cost effective.
Aesthetics: Pleasing facades, achieved with combination of warm colours will enhance the community landscape. Structural Stability
Walls: A combination of 225mm and 150mm sand Crete hollow block wall, well rendered to receive painting.
Windows: All windows shall be of well-seasoned hardwood with 2 coats of gloss paint.
Doors: All Doors shall be of Timber panel doors. 2 coats of paint.
Finishing (Painting): The finishing of the building shall be a combination of gloss and emulsion paint in accordance with the Architect’s specification and finishes’ schedule.
The Roof: The roof shall be long-span aluminium roofing sheets nailed on well treated hardwood truss.
Aims and Objectives
The aim and objectives of Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation is to enable business men/women, students and teachers to have a place of hygiene with an exemplary community sanitary complex in terms of comfort. The design approach that will be adopted will provide a conducive, congenial block that would enhance comfort. The specific objectives are essentially to be able to:
Provide a suitable infrastructure for natural needs for all;
Limit microbial infections among women and children
To sensitize the populations and the pupils to hygiene and sanitation
Set up a community health committee
Enrich the general landscape of the community environment.
The proposed construction should be an outstanding architectural edifice.
Target Beneficiaries
The project will be implemented in the rural communities in Southeast, comprising of public and community sanitary complex that will accommodate a minimum of ten people per use. The direct beneficiaries are women, girls, children, business people and community.” We will organize series of seminars captioned, “Total Sanitation campaign” where we will educate the community about personal hygiene and the danger and health hazards that surrounds open defecation,
The impact of the underlying project on the target population.
It is disappointing to note that in this modern age, many rural communities lack place of convenience. This is an issue to be worried about. This was one of the major concerns raised by the Elders of the community during our visit. This has resulted to the practice of open defecation which has the potential to contribute to the people suffering from the contaminating effects of open defecation particularly women and children. Using proper toilets prevents the transfer of bacteria, viruses and parasites found in human excreta which otherwise contaminate water resources, soil and food. This contamination is a major cause of diarrhoea, the second biggest killer of children and leads to other major diseases such as cholera, schistosomiasis and trachoma.
Improving access to sanitation is a critical step towards reducing the impact of these diseases. It also helps create physical environments that enhance safety, dignity and self-esteem. Safety issues are particularly important for women and children, who otherwise risk sexual harassment and assault when defecating at night and in secluded areas. Progress has not been made with the Sustainable Development Goal target on sanitation at the current rates of progress even though the Inter-governmental Open Working Group on the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals have recommended that the new goals include a target of achieving adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and ending open defecation by 2030.
*Project Details
INCOME
At the moment, we have no working capital to carry out any “Community Sanitary Complex” project in rural communities in southeast. The project requires a huge amount of capital. We are optimistic that in the near future all our aspiration and hope will be actualized.
Difficulties and Challenges
One of the challenges also that hinders our progress and drawing us backward in realising our project goal is lack of capital and sponsorship. We call on all to support us in the fourth coming little by little fundraising campaign coming up in April 4th through 8th.
Sustainability of the Project
The ability of our organization as a whole to survive and to meet our mission goal, we embark on an entrepreneurial venture, as a way of raising money for community, financial and organizational sustainability. The foundation runs a food production, processing and packaging factory. We have been partnering with a company in processing our food items for sales. We are working hard to build our own factory for our organizational sustainability, and to help youth that have vocational skill to acquaint themselves with entrepreneurial skills to be resourceful and useful to themselves and society at large. The procurement of the necessary equipment for production, processing and packaging of organic raw materials(food) and construction of a multi-purpose hall that will accommodate our factory and other activities is our priority, we can achieve this through external sources like grants and long-term funding or through internal sources like income-generating activities or membership fees. And to actualize our mission and goal, we have these points as our guiding principles: Collaborative leadership, member-driven decisions, effective communication, change-ready and adaptive workforce continuous improvement, on-going evaluation and measurement, sound financial infrastructure.
Annexes
Annexed below is a sample of this section that has been drawn from the project report of ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ – a non-profit organization that works with young adolescents, youths and adult in rural Communities.
*Overview of the Program:
We at ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ very much value exposure, interaction and peer learning processes. Our recent interactions with more than 20 Communities have reinforced this belief. We are now looking out for support to create 2 youth resource and Empowerment centers in southeast, Nigeria where young, adult etc. can come together, co-create learning experiences and contribute positively to the community development. We plan to utilize these resource Empowerment centers as spaces for involving the youth and adult in “self-development” and ‘social action’ projects of various kind. 'Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ has the required experience and expertise to design and run social action campaigns. We feel campaigns are great opportunities to demonstrate leadership skills, highlight social issues, develop deeper understanding about issues and mobilize young people. Campaigns give energy and take care of youth and adult needs such as fun, interaction, novelty etc. We want to organize a campaign each year highlighting youth action.
What we have achieved so far?
‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ is now an accepted name in more than 35 Communities. Our volunteers are personally known to tens of thousands of families in southeast. As a part of self-development initiative, we have conducted workshops in more than 25 Communities in the last 3 years with a direct outreach of approximately 4000 people in the last 3 years. We have so far organized one major campaign in nearby villages where they went and identified families who were not buoyant enough to Carter for their family’s needs.
Since the beginning ‘Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian Foundation’ has been running out several programs in Communities promoting spirit of volunteerism and celebrating youth led social action. We have organized a major social action project titled ‘Change for life’ in 10 large Communities with an approximate outreach of around 23000 peoples. This project involved collecting and donating used and unused clothes blankets, shoes, food items to the needy.
What we propose?
Sam Onyemaechi Humanitarian foundation wants to transform how people in the community think, act and talk about open defecation. We aimed to make more impact, circulate more information into the community and expand activities and events to support disadvantaged communities. This will depend on obtaining funding and other forms of support as any costs currently incurred to run events are out of pocket expenses. Additionally, they are actively engaging with more community centers, the local council and NGOs to support the SOHF and its expanding activities.
Awareness Campaign:
We will design and run campaigns involving adolescents’ young people and adult from rural and urban areas every year starting with the end of year 1. This will help to consolidate their learnings and create awareness about social issues.
Conclusion
Toilets are crucial for the healthy development of people, not to mention children. So is sanitation – facilities and services for safe disposal of human urine and feces includes maintaining hygiene through services such as garbage collection and wastewater disposal. As an "away-from-home" toilet room, a public toilet can provide far more than access to the toilet for urination and defecation. People also wash their hands, use the mirrors for grooming, get drinking water (e.g., refilling water bottles), attend to menstrual hygiene needs, and use the waste bins.
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