SFH Nigeria Website 
A New Chapter; How Stakeholder Collaboration Transformed Government Secondary School, Uke
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By Wubunna Ishaku Gofwen, John Shaibu, Lizzy Idoko, Nnamdi Anosike, Jane Chinyere Adizue
Uke district is the administrative secretariat of Karshi development area in Karu Local Government Area (LGA) of Nasarawa State and serves as one of the intervention communities for the WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) for Healthy Lives Project. Uke has an estimated population of 69,207 persons (as provided by the Karu LGA Monitoring and Evaluation Unit) and hosts the Government Secondary School (GSS) Uke, a government-owned boarding & day school with a student population of over 500. The school serves as a formal post-primary education centre for the residents of Uke and other neighbouring communities in Karu LGA of Nasarawa State.
In August 2023, GSS, Uke, witnessed a significant transformation through the WASH for Healthy Lives project school programme, with the training of Peer Educators in the school who are equipped with the knowledge and skill of proper WASH services, from maintaining a safe water system to educating peers on proper hygiene & sanitation practices. These peer educators were drawn from the list of academically high-performing students, and who had at least a session left before graduation. The gains from the school programme however could not be fully achieved due to the extremely poor sanitary conditions of the toilet facilities in GSS Uke.
The quaint toilets which were non-functional and lacking in basic facilities meant the students could not use them. This lack of proper sanitation resulted to the practice of open defecation with its inherent risk of disease spread amongst students and teachers in the school. The school had made efforts to rehabilitate the toilets but without the needed support from the requisite government institution, the hope of having functional toilet facilities in the school remained a pipe dream for the students in GSS Uke.
The turning point came during a Joint Supervisory Support Visit (JSSV) carried out by Society for Family Health (SFH) through the WASH for Healthy Lives (W4HL) project. This visit, in collaboration with the Nasarawa State Government, included representatives from the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA), and the Nasarawa Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (NARUWASSA) at GSS Uke. During the visit, the government official witnessed first-hand the activities of the trained peer educators in the school and interacted with them to ascertain their versatility in delivering the key messages of the WASH programme.
The students had the opportunity to voice their challenges, highlighting poor sanitary practices stemming from the lack of proper facilities. They emphasised that the deteriorating condition of the school’s toilets hindered them from fully benefiting from the programme. The government representatives upon seeing the state of the toilets in the school were beyond disappointed. In his words, the General Manager (GM) of NARUWASSA, Dr Rowland Ayuba said “ How do we want our children to learn in this type of environment, and in a boarding school for that matter, we can’t be advocating for open defecation free(ODF) communities and leave our schools behind.” The officials resolved to collaborate and initiate the much-needed change in improving the learning condition of the students.
At the beginning of the new Academic session in 2024, through the collective efforts of NARUWASSA and the Nasarawa State Ministry of Education, six (6) new toilets are currently under construction in GSS Uke. Water points were installed by NARUWASSA in the school to promote a safe water system for the students while also promoting a new culture of handwashing amongst students, directly impacting the hygiene practices amongst students and promoting their overall well-being. The establishment of a WASH club has breathed a new lease of life to the sanitary conditions in GSS Uke, further reinforcing the positive behaviour change which the W4HL stands for. Mr Bako , the school WASH Club supervisor, expressed his gratitude, saying, “I feel delighted and proud to be a part of what the school has achieved through this intervention. For years, the school and the students have suffered from the lack of toilets. We are eternally grateful to SFH for this intervention in our school.”
The success story of Government Secondary School, Uke, highlights the power of collaboration and the profound impact that targeted interventions can have in promoting change and enhancing lives in our communities. SFH through the W4HL project will continue to implement activities aimed at ensuring the overall well-being for the people of the community for whom we exist.
