Incentivising WASH: Soccer
Somedays I just have to smile, because we have partners in Africa doing awesome and innovative work. In the midst of reports, spreadsheets, and budgets, it is easy to get lost in the mundane details. Then the inbox lights up and there is an email that puts things in perspective.
Right now there is a rush on WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) trainings in the Lwala community of Western Kenya. Our partner there, the Lwala Community Alliance, announced a WASH Soccer Tournament at the end of August. The basic idea was to put together a soccer tournament that required participants to attend a WASH training and implement what they had learned in their home. The community took hold of the idea and the tournament exploded.
The tournament will take place over three days in the coming week. It includes soccer (men's teams), netball (women's teams), and volleyball (men and women's teams) - thus the WASH Soccer Tournament became the WASH Sports Tournament. Which means that there are a lot more people to attend WASH trainings, and the impact of the tournament is spreading. This is part of the email that I received this week:
"We will have trained over 125 people in two weeks and because we have so many experienced trainers, we have been able to maintain the participatory, small group structure of the WASH curriculum."
That is over one hundred households being trained on WASH methods and making changes in their homes that will keep them healthy. Yes, it would have happened eventually, but a WASH Sports Tournament is creating a local demand that is hard to meet. What a beautiful problem!
*The above picture is from a similar WASH soccer tournament in Uganda. During the Well:Done celebration, our partner in Uganda shared the stories of this soccer tournament. The Lwala Community Alliance loved the idea so much they decided it implement their own!
Blog post written by: Pamela Crane PhD - Africa Field Manager
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