Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the hand washing with soap movement is conducted more intensively in USAID IUWASH PLUS assisted districts/cities in East Java region, among others is Lumajang district.
Early April 2020, the participatory M&E teams and USAID IUWASH PLUS developed hand washing with soap stations to be distributed to the community members in Rogotrunan and Tompokersan urban villages, and Karangsari village, who have yet to have the facilities. The participatory M&E teams are community groups that USAID IUWASH PLUS and local puskesmas have trained to support improvements of household water and sanitation access, as well as to promote behavior change.
Within a month, the participatory M&E teams and USAID IUWASH PLUS made 60 handwashing with soap stations and printed 660 stickers. On April 27-30 2020, the participatory M&E teams distributed the facilities to the people in need in Rogotrunan and Tompokersan urban villages, and Karangsari village. Each of those villages received 20 hand washing with soaps and 220 stickers.
The Head of Tompokersan Urban Village, welcomed this initiative warmly. “I hope these facilities will make my community members maintain their hygiene by washing hands with soap, so that they are protected from Covid-19,” he said.
Besides the participatory M&E teams, some community members in Rogotrunan and Tompokersan urban villages, and Karangsari village also built the hand washing with soap stations at their own cost.
In addition to Lumajang, several community groups in Gresik districts, Probolinggo district and city, and Malang district and city also developed and distributed hand washing with soap stations to their surrounding commity. In the end of April, the hand washing with soap distribution also occurred in three villages in Sidoarjo district, three villages in Gresik district, and in an RW (small neighborhood) in one of Malang district’s hamlets.
In total, USAID IUWASH PLUS has supported the development of hand washing with soap stations in around 22 villages in seven districts/cities in East Java.
Conducted in other USAID IUWASH PLUS’ Working Areas
Not only in East Java, USAID IUWASH PLUS has also supported the community and stakeholders in the other project assisted regions to build hand washing with soap stations, namely North Sumatra, West Java and DKI Jakarta, Central Java, and South Sulawesi and Eastern Indonesia.
The project’s supports were delivered in the form of water taps, and/or soap dispensers, or in some cases funding to the whole facility.
In total, USAID IUWASH PLUS has contributed to the development of 1,046 hand washing with soap stations. In addition, the project’s partners have now developed 5,113 handwashing with soap facilities.
