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Lamodi Community Primary School, Iyeru- Okin Primary School and Offa Community Secondary School are public schools in Offa Community, Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, North Central of Nigeria with a population of 120,000 inhabitants. The two Primary and one Secondary Schools are the only school located in the community and Children from neighboring villages like Adeleke, Oyun, Ijagbo, Ipee, Igbotele, Igosun. Ojoku, Irra, Ilemona etc also attend this School. Accessibility to good toilet and water facilities is a major problem confronting the pupils, student and the teachers. This has lead to spread of diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid and has resulted in the death of many children and teachers
The Rotary Club of Ilorin with great understanding of the global need for clean water and improved sanitation, being one of Rotary Foundation's six areas of focus, discussed and interacted with the pupils, students, teachers and the community and they complained about the lack of toilet and portable water in the schools. We believe that for any education, social and economic development to be impacted on the pupils and students adequate sanitation with good hygiene and safe water are essential to their good health. Lack of proper sanitation causes diseases and most of the diseases resulting from sanitation have a direct relation to poverty. The lack of clean water and poor sanitation has caused many diseases and death among the teachers, students and pupils.
Many girl students from poor families drop out of school because of the poor sanitary conditions in schools. When students are freed from fetching water, they return to class. With proper and safe latrines, girls stay in school through their teenage years
After the Interaction made with members of the school communities we discovered that there has been a recent increase in the incidence of water borne diseases in the school, some have resulted to deaths. This we attribute to poor sanitation due to lack of toilet facilities as the streams that serves these communities also serve as their laundry spots, watering places for their animals and bathing spots. Women spend 15-20 hours per week walking up to several miles to fetch 40 -pound jerry cans of water. They often do this early in the morning or late at night, putting them at greater risk for sexual assault. Rotary Club of Ilorin strongly believe that provision of toilet and clean portable drinking water will give the children more time for their studies and also provide improved sanitation and health status for the pupils, students teachers and members of the community.
BENEFIT/ RESULT
1. Eradication of typhoid fever, cholera, diarrhea and other water related diseases
2. Pupils and Students will have more time to concentrate on their studies as against trekking 1-4 Kilometers to get water
3. The toilet will be clean because there will be enough water to take care of it after use by Pupils, Students and teachers and this will reduce the spread of diseases.
4. Teachers will be focused in teaching the pupils as against searching for water when they are supposed to teach the pupils.
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