Learners have been urged to take a leading role in promoting water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in schools and their communities as a way of improving health, increasing school attendance and enhancing academic performance.
The call was made during the inaugural School WASH Competition held at Kiswa Primary School in Bugolobi on Friday under the theme, "WASH for Every Child is Dignity – Clean Hands, Safe Toilets, Better Grades."
The event was organised by Community Integrated Development Initiatives (CIDI) in partnership with Danish People's Aid and attracted 11 primary schools from Makindye and Nakawa divisions.
Participating schools showcased hygiene messages through music, dance and drama (MDD), with Bukasa Primary School emerging the overall winner, followed by St. Lawrence Primary School in second place and Luzira Church of Uganda Primary School in third. The winning schools received trophies and other prizes.
Nakawa Division Mayor Bukeni Ali, popularly known as Nubian Li, encouraged learners to actively participate in co-curricular activities, saying they help build confidence, teamwork and improve academic performance.
"When you participate in such activities, you gain the confidence to stand before many people and express yourself. It also enhances your academics because you have to memorise songs, words and movements, which exercises your brain," he said.
He said teamwork is among the greatest lessons learners acquire through such competitions.
"Whenever you work as a team, things move faster. When you stand together, you are stronger," he said.
Nubian Li also emphasised the importance of cleanliness, noting that good hygiene reduces illnesses and enables learners to remain in school.
"When you have clean water, you keep the doctors away. That means you won't fall sick, you'll stay in class and your parents will save money that would have been spent on hospital bills," he said.
He urged learners to avoid littering, keep their surroundings clean and embrace patriotism.
"Be Ugandans who participate in everything because this is your country. Love yourself and love your country," he added.
The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Forum on WASH and Kumi Municipality MP, Silas Aogon, commended CIDI for using schools as platforms to promote hygiene, describing children as effective agents of change.
"Not all civil society organisations do well. There are those that are committed, and CIDI is one of them because they know how to choose a strategy that works," Aogon said.
He noted that teaching WASH in schools helps children develop lifelong hygiene practices that positively influence their communities.
"The young ones receive information easily. When they become adults, they know what to do in their homes and become champions in their communities," he said.
Aogon also praised efforts to promote menstrual hygiene awareness among both girls and boys.
"In the past, boys laughed at girls during menstruation, causing many girls to miss school and perform poorly. Today there is a change because boys now understand these issues," he said.
He added that learners are also acquiring practical environmental conservation skills, including waste segregation.
"If you want to get value from garbage, you must sort it. These are messages that should run through the school system," he said.
The legislator called on Parliament and the government to increase funding for WASH programmes in schools.
"Parliament should allocate more funding for this kind of advocacy and roll it out to all schools across the country. That is how we shall transform Uganda for the better," he said.
Speaking at the event, Inviolah Nambi of CIDI said the competition forms part of the organisation's broader School WASH Project, which seeks to ensure the sustainability of hygiene messages among learners.
She said the initiative is designed to position children as champions of water, sanitation and hygiene within schools and their communities while advocating for increased investment in WASH facilities.
"We organised the competition to ensure the sustainability of WASH messages in schools and to promote children as key change agents in water, sanitation and hygiene," Nambi said.
She explained that participating schools had undergone continuous training and sensitisation, with the competition assessing how well learners had understood and applied the knowledge acquired.
"The learners have gone beyond the information we shared by creating original songs, dramas and dances that communicate WASH messages," she said.
Nambi said the competition also aims to strengthen advocacy for increased WASH funding at school, local government and national levels.
Despite the progress registered through the project, she said schools continue to face significant challenges.
"Schools still struggle with inadequate water supplies, high water bills and insufficient sanitation facilities that do not meet the recommended learner-to-latrine ratio," she said.
She added that although several schools have received rainwater harvesting tanks, maintaining the facilities remains a major challenge.
"The biggest challenge is now the operation and maintenance of water facilities. Once one system breaks down, schools face an immediate water crisis," she noted.
Nambi further warned that poor-quality water used to wash utensils after meals could increase the risk of waterborne diseases among learners.
She called on the government, development partners and other stakeholders to invest more in providing safe and clean water in schools.
"We continue to call upon government, NGOs and other partners to work together and support schools in accessing safe and clean water for children," she said.
