Hygiene training
November 1, 2011
“It was exciting to see this reaction to Alfonses teaching happening and you could see in the faces of the villagers that they were fully engaged and learning”.
This was the enthusiastic report of a visiting colleague that attended a hygiene training in a rural village in Benin.
Alfonse had developed an approach that actively engaged the villagers in the learning process. The interaction between Alfonse and the villagers was really quite strikingly different from what previously happened in similar trainings. In those previous times the villagers politely listened to the lesson and rarely responded. With Alfonse leading the training, the villagers spontaneously responded to his questions.
This hygiene training is a standard addition to the drilling of a well, together with a technical training for several members of the village that are assigned by the villagers to care for the well. To do so they gather a small contribution from those who use the well so that future repairs can be paid from that fund and the village is not dependant on GAiN any longer. Of course our teams do stay in touch with the villages for a long time and are always available to help in case the need is there for bigger operations.
