So while our 26 prototype
handwashing stations are being tested, we’re not just sitting around twiddling our thumbs. We’ve been preparing for another round of WatSan training. However, we’re always looking for ways to improve, add a little spice to the mix. So, in addition to training the community on ways to improve their water, sanitation, and hygiene, we’ve been working on ways to facilitate a discussion amongst the farmers that will empower them to make informed decisions concerning water, sanitation, and hygiene in their own community.
Of course, one doesn’t just traipse into a community and start facilitating discussions. So, we started training on the different skills that a facilitator should have, such as asking probing questions, being an active listener and finding common ground between two different views. Once we finished some basic exercises on facilitation, we decided to use our Field Officers as our guinea pigs, and they became our “community” to practice our skills on.
For our first run with the Field Officers, we decided to use a sanitation and hygiene program called
PHAST (Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation) as a starting point. From this first run, we could see what things were working, and what things needed to be changed. For example, it became clear that our Field Managers were having trouble distancing their own opinions from the conversation. It was so hard for them to not chime in with their own two cents. So, we’ll have to keep working on that one. However, an activity that was working for us was the pocket chart. This was basically a way for the field officers to anonymously (and therefore hopefully, truthfully) vote on different questions that the group was discussing.
After one of the pocket chart activities on handwashing, the Field Officers split into two camps. One group decided that most people in their community washed their hands, while another group was adamant that most people did NOT wash their hands in their community. Of course, it was a great challenge for our Field Managers to find common ground between the two camps, but it was also very insightful to see the different arguments our Field Officers brought up. One side claimed that people who are working in the fields all day have no access to handwashing facilities, and just take their lunch without washing hands. The other group retorted that people have the knowledge, and know how dirty hands affect their health. Armed with that knowledge, they would most definitely wash their hands.
So, while we will be practicing our facilitation skills some more before going into the field, we have definitely gained some interesting insights. Also, our Field Managers are excited about this approach to engaging the community and are eager to hone their skills even further.
