From April 20-30, Peace Corps Volunteers David, Kyle, and Melissa traveled to five different volunteer sites in the North of Senegal to host day-long Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) trainings. Targeting women’s groups and community health workers, the trainings focused on WASH behavior change.

With the help of hosting volunteers, David, Kyle, and Melissa were able to cater the formation to each site’s specific interests and needs. Overall, 103 women were trained in topics including: soap-making, marketing and pricing, diarrhea prevention and symptoms, Tippy Tap (hand-washing station) construction, and a mock-LIFE game to illustrate the financial benefits of proper sanitation practices.

The long term goal is to have more families be able to identify when to seek care for diarrhea, how and when to properly wash hands, and how sanitation is both a sound physical and financial investment. As a cross-sector project, working within the Health and Community Economic Development frameworks, this tour also aimed to improve the productivity and agency of women’s groups.

Volunteers David, Kyle, and Melissa would like to thank Water Charity for their support as well as Peace Corps volunteers Jill, Emma, Sarah, Rebecca, and Emilie for their preparations and hospitality.