"The school has changed so much”

"My name is Yang Mei. I am a middle school student." This is how 15-year-old Yang Mei introduces herself in perfectly-accented English.

When the Wenchuan earthquake hit in May 2008, Yang Mei was a fifth-grade student at Caoyang Primary School in Gansu Province's Xihe County.

Today, she is in the eighth grade, attending Xihe County No. 2 Secondary School, 30 kilometres away from her hometown. As a boarding student, Yang Mei is only able to return to her hometown once every two weeks, and seldom returns to Caoyang Primary School.

But in April 2011, just a few weeks shy of the three-year anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake, Yang Mei had a chance to revisit her primary school. "When I graduated from here in June 2009, the latrines and water facilities were still being constructed. Today, that construction has been completed. And there's even a new playground. The school has changed so much!" said Yang Mei.

While the dramatic changes that Yang Mei saw at Caoyang Primary School after nearly two years away were eye-opening for her, they are a part of everyday life for her brother, Yang Zhen. Two years younger than his sister, Yang Zhen is now a sixth-grade student at Caoyang Primary School and has witnessed UNICEF's support to the school as part of its Building Back Better programme, from start to finish. "To have clean water to drink, a sanitary latrine to use… my classmates and I are all so happy and excited. I hope that we will always have this access," he said.

During the reconstruction period, UNICEF supported the construction of clean water facilities and three-compartment septic tank latrines in 39 schools in Xihe County. Today, these facilities are being sustainably used in all 39 schools.

"In the past, we had two washbasins in the back of every classroom. Whenever we needed water, the boys in the class would have to go draw water from a nearby well. But now, it's so convenient," Yang Mei said, upon seeing the sinks in the UNICEF-supported school water house.

The principal of Caoyang Primary School, Mr. He Baohui added, "It's not only convenient; the construction of the water facilities and latrines has also had a huge impact on student health."

"The new hygiene concepts will continue into the future"

Less obviously visible but perhaps even more important than the water and sanitation facilities built during reconstruction is the adoption of healthy and hygienic behaviours by children in the earthquake zone. Over the course of the last three years, UNICEF's support to water and sanitation infrastructure has been accompanied by hygiene education and social mobilization among 10,000 students in Xihe County.

As a result of UNICEF-supported hygiene education, today, everybody at Yangzui Primary School knows about the six-step handwashing method. According to fifth-grader Lu Ruixue, in the past, she very rarely washed her hands. Now, she always washes her hands before meals and after going to the bathroom. Students have also become agents of change, actively sharing hygiene practices with their families. According to sixth-grader Yang Jiangjiang, it was through him that his parents and his elder sister learned about proper handwashing technique.

The big changes that have been brought about at Yangzui Primary School can be attributed in large part to Mr. Yang Shulin. After participating in UNICEF-supported training on health education, Mr. Yang returned to his school, where he trained both the principal and his fellow teachers. The teachers in turn shared hygiene knowledge with their students, covering topics such as handwashing with soap, use and maintenance of sanitary latrines, and personal hygiene practices. One way in which the school has helped to spread awareness is through peer education, with older students guiding younger students, and students learning from one another.

The environment at Yangzui Primary School today is quite different from how it was before the earthquake. According to UNICEF-supported studies conducted in Xihe County in May 2009, nearly half of the students surveyed had experienced at least one episode of diarrhoea in the three months prior to the study. "Since then, we've found that the incidence of diarrhoea, common colds and other illnesses has decreased markedly," said Mr. Yang. "I know that the increased awareness and the new hygiene practices that have been introduced since the earthquake will continue into the future," he said.

Su Biwa, 43 years old, is a resident of Yangzui Village. For many years now, he has travelled between Xihe County and neighbouring Chengxian County. It was in Chengxian County several years ago that he saw a hygienic latrine for the first time, and hoped that he would one day be able to provide one for his own family of five people. Mr. Su was delighted when, with UNICEF support, a sanitary latrine was constructed in his household in December 2009. The double-urn latrines supported by UNICEF dispose of waste harmlessly and ward off intestinal infections, but are also water-efficient, inexpensive and easy to maintain. This makes them appropriate for the local context and suitable for scaling up.

In 2010, on the basis of the positive experience with the UNICEF-supported model households, Xihe County successfully applied for funding support from the central government for the construction of an additional 2,000 household latrines. In 2011, Xihe County successfully applied for provincial funding support for the construction of an additional 2,000 sanitary household latrines. In the three years since the earthquake, UNICEF's support has had a catalytic effect, increasing demand for sanitation by raising awareness among both rural households and government decision makers.

Momentous changes have taken place in Yangzui Village since the earthquake. "Now that we have access to clean drinking water from our household taps, we no longer have to fetch unclean water from the river dyke. The latrine is also much cleaner. This is one of the happiest moments in my life," said 63-year-old villager Han Daimei.

"One of the happiest moments in my life"

For generations, the people of Gansu Province's mountainous Longnan Prefecture, where Xihe County is located, have lived with water shortage. The difficulty in accessing sufficient quantities of water has affected local hygiene practices.

In the three years since the earthquake, UNICEF's support to hardware and software interventions in schools in Xihe County has also extended to the rural communities in which they are situated. UNICEF's work has helped to ensure reliable access to improved water and sanitation for children at both school and home. With UNICEF support, clean water sources have been identified, and pipe networks have been constructed or extended, with connections to all households in 39 rural communities. In places where water availability fluctuates, UNICEF has supported the construction of water cellars for rainwater collection and worked with local communities to better manage water resources.

UNICEF also supported the construction of double-urn sanitary latrines in 780 model households with children studying at UNICEF-supported schools. Today, these household latrines, painted a bright white colour, stand out among the earth-coloured homes made of mud and brick.