Football 4 WASH

Context

According to the WHO, it is estimated that 842,000 deaths per year are attributable to unsafe water, poor hygiene practices and a lack of basic sanitation, mostly in tropical regions. In Uganda, one in four children does not have access to clean drinking water or basic sanitation. According to a 2015 study carried out in Kampala’s slums by the Public Health Directorate (Kampala Capital City Authority), the average family has four children, while one in three families is without access to basic sanitation.

In this context, Watoto Wasoka, in partnership with the charity Viva con Agua, uses sport as a tool for health and well-being, and utilises football to energise and educate children through play. The association’s programmes aim to encourage young people to adopt good hygiene and sanitation practices.

Goals

• Increase hygiene-related knowledge among 3,000 young people in Kampala, Uganda, and instil in them behaviours such as handwashing and the appropriate use of sanitation facilities
• Promote good hygiene and sanitation through F4W sessions and awareness-raising workshops in Kampala’s slums
• Enhance the knowledge of teachers and coaches through F4W coaching sessions
• Promote the good health and personal development of 3,000 children in Kampala’s slums by increasing their participation in physical activities, i.e. regular and structured sporting activities

Activities

• Training a cohort of teachers and coaches in the F4W methodologies over a period of four or five days
• Organising teacher-led workshops in schools to educate young people through exercises and discussions based on the Watoto Wasoka and Viva con Agua F4W manual
• Holding football tournaments and competitions involving the schools and communities that have participated in F4W workshops (Girls’ Football, F4W Challenge, F4W Symposium, and so on)
• Rewards: the best teams are rewarded with football equipment such as shirts and bibs. The best schools receive WASH equipment including sanitation facilities, water tanks, handwashing kits and water filters, which are financed and installed by Viva con Agua

Impacts

• More than 3,000 young people aged 8 to 15 (40% girls and 60% boys) who live in Kampala’s slums have benefited from the project
• 50 teachers (50% women and 50% men) from 25 primary schools around Kampala have been trained
• 30 community coaches (30% women and 70% men) from 30 communities have benefited from training sessions
• Awareness-raising among people living in Kampala’s slums about the correct hygiene and sanitation practices to adopt
• More than 4,000 young people have been reached through organised events, such as the “Slums Derby”, Christmas camps and F4W Challenges