Cape Town - Non-profit organisation Save Our Schools, in partnership with Xylem’s Watermark project, has built over 110 000 hand-washing stations and toilets for families in Bloekombos and Wallacedene in Kraaifontein.
The initiative was part of a Covid-19 response campaign by the two organisations to give vulnerable residents living in disadvantaged communities access to hand-washing stations as well as sanitation and hygiene facilities.
SOS chief executive Shelley Humphreys said the organisation’s focus was not only to install and provide physical usable water and sanitation facilities but also to promote hygiene safety and prevent infections and diseases from poor hygiene and sanitation habits.
Currently the NPO has seven active projects in local schools, focused on supplying over 3 800 learners with hand-washing stations, upgrades of ablution structures, water tanks, taps, sinks, as well as a secondary water supply for a new food garden that supports the school’s feeding scheme.
“With the Xylem Watermark donation, we have been able to ensure that the hand-washing stations are strategically located, and that regular monitoring and adequate regulation is in place, to ensure the long-term functioning of the infrastructure, both in the community and the schools,” said Humphreys.
“We would like to thank the Xylem Watermark project for their ongoing support in protecting the most vulnerable in these underprivileged communities.”
In addition to the hand-washing drive and other projects, the partnership between the two organisations has created 14 job opportunities for residents who assisted with the construction teams and who now monitor, manage and sterilise water tanks to ensure that they remain clean.
Meanwhile, in the greater Kraaifontein, local community leaders are stressing the importance of residents adhering to Covid-19 regulations as coronavirus infections in the province are on the rise.
Over the weekend, a convoy from the City’s disaster risk management team patrolled in the community’s busy CBD as part of its drive to raise awareness about Covid-19, in areas where there has been an increase in infections.