As part of the Atiwa WASH Project Phase II which was funded by Ernst Peyer Foundation of Switzerland, the Centre for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, (formerly Centre for Development Partnerships and Innovations) completed and handed-over 4No. 3-Seater new KVIP latrines to two schools namely: Ankaase Presby KG/Primary School and Ankaase Juniour High School.

The contributions of the constructioonj team of C-WASH namely Messrs Godfred Ofori, MacBest Ofori Frempong, Yaw Nkansah, Yaw Asamoah, and Joseph Tetteh to the successful completion of the school KVIP project had been significant and commendable.

The staff of C-WASH ensured that key components of the latrines such as the size of the drop holes, foot-rests, ramps, handwashing stations, changing rooms for girls, and urinals for the boys were constructed with operation and maintenance in mind. The essence was to facilitate proper use of the latrines by the school children and easy/appropriate maintenance.

Apart from the overall management support provided by the C-WASH team, site meetings were organised with the construction team to exchange ideas on progress and strategies, and also to discuss and resolve specific challenges. The site meetings were particularly useful in resolving problems and taking key decisions to restore the morale and commitment of the construction team. The active participation of the Chiefs and Elders of the community and the two beneficiary schools was emphasised throughout the programme to promote the sense of ownership and sustainability.

Overall, the 4No. school KVIP latrine project provided equitable access to improved sanitation and hygiene facilities for 431 pupils and 20 teachers from the two beneficiary schools. The school latrines were designed and constructed to provide adequate access to safe, hygienic, gender-separated, girl-friendly, and disabled-friendly sanitation facilities in the schools

The latrines school latrines had the following features/components:

• 3 Privy rooms, one of which has disabled-friendly features including a gently sloping ramp and metal support over the pits.
• Handwashing station with three to five taps for handwashing into a gently sloping tiled drain which channels wastewater into the pit.
• A urinal (fully tiled) attached to the latrine with taps to be used for scrubbing of the drain in which the pupils and teachers urinate, and could also be used for handwashing after urinating.
• Eave-gutter to collect rainwater which is then channelled into the ground-level tank.
• One ground-level (1000-litre) duraplast tank with water level indicator from which water is manually pumped into the 6m High Level Tank (also 1000-litre duraplast tank with water level indicator).
• The 6m High Level Tank (1000-litre duraplast tank). This supplies both the male and female latrines with water for handwashing, menstrual hygiene management, and scrubbing/cleaning, once filled).
• The Vent Pipes installed to facilitate the proper functioning of the KVIP latrines
• Doors installed to ensure privacy and safety, and to facilitate the proper functioning of the KVIP latrines.
• Safe outlets to provide exit for rainwater run-off from the corridors of the latrines, wastewater from the handwashing stations and urinals, as well as the overflow from the ground level tanks.
• Changing rooms for girls