Students Take Ownership to End Cholera

Pupils at Parkland Secondary School in Chilanga District, Lusaka Province, are actively working to prevent the spread of cholera in their community. By practicing improved handwashing, chlorinating water, and spreading cholera prevention messages, they are ensuring their school remains cholera-free. These initiatives are supported by UNICEF with funding from European Union Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), enhancing access to essential water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies.

Parkland received materials such as handwashing and drinking water buckets, soap, chlorine, bleach, and educational posters to aid in cholera prevention. Precious, a social studies teacher and a member of the School Health and Nutrition Committee, which consists of six teachers dedicated to cholera prevention, plays a key role in these efforts. The committee is further supported by two student monitors in each classroom, who are responsible for daily refilling their classroom’s two buckets with fresh water and ensuring proper chlorination.

"Including our students in the process has helped them take ownership of their class’s drinking water and apply what they’ve learned," shared Precious. This hands-on involvement has empowered students to actively participate in maintaining their school’s health and hygiene standards.

During the height of the cholera outbreak, Precious and other teachers on the School Health and Nutrition Committee regularly shared cholera prevention messages with their pupils. However, they found that challenges often arose at home. Teachers at Parkland strived to teach their learners best hygiene practices and encouraged them to share these practices with their families. When the cholera outbreak first hit, many students were fearful, but learning how to prevent it helped them feel safe.

“I’m so glad we’re a school to receive support. It’s been a huge help in preventing cholera cases at our school,” shared Precious. Before receiving support, the school had only one bucket for all the students to use for drinking water. Now, they have 20 buckets, chlorine, and educational materials, which are key to preventing cholera in their community. With support from ECHO, supplies have been procured for a total of 101 schools—63 in Lusaka Province and 38 in the Copperbelt Province—reaching 103,657 school children.

Students like Joy and Shaekaim have taken ownership of the handwashing and drinking water process at their school. They prioritize these tasks for their classroom, are empowered to share prevention messages with their classmates, and ensure that everyone continues to practice good hygiene and drink from the designated buckets.

“As student monitors, learning how to chlorinate water was incredibly helpful,” shared Joy. “We always make sure our buckets are filled with safe, clean water for our classmates and encourage them to drink only from these buckets.”

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of teachers like Precious and students like Joy, Parkland Secondary School did not experience any cases of cholera among their students this year. Educating students and providing them with the tools to prevent cholera will continue to benefit schools and communities for years to come.