Clean water and sanitation for all is a critical Sustainable Development Goal which has only become more significant in the global pandemic. In rural Tanzania the spread of water-borne diseases affects everyday lives, so Raleigh International young people teamed up with Reckitt employees, and found an impactful way to combat this problem.
Clean water and sanitation for all is a critical Sustainable Development Goal which has only become more significant in the global pandemic. In rural Tanzania the spread of water-borne diseases affects everyday lives, so when Raleigh International young people teamed up with Reckitt employees, they found an impactful way to combat this problem through designing a project known locally as the Healthier Lives Happier Homes project. A new report from Reckitt and Raleigh International highlights the impacts of the project and how collaboration between businesses and youth can create real change.
In rural areas of Kilombero, Tanzania, poor knowledge around good hygiene practices are all too commonplace. In areas where communities are unable to follow good practices around hand washing and food hygiene, there is a higher risk of cholera outbreaks and diarrhoea transmission, putting a strain on families and posing a real and tangible threat to livelihoods.
For six years Raleigh International volunteers have worked to improve health and hygiene practices by working with school children on water and sanitation. However research showed that hygiene behaviours learnt in schools were not cascading into the home, preventing wide spread community change. Raleigh International teamed up with health, hygiene and nutrition company Reckitt to tackle this issue..
Bringing together young people and businesses to create change.
30 Tanzanian young people from Raleigh International partnered with 30 employees from Reckitt to conduct research and brainstorming to develop ideas for tackling water-borne illnesses.
Through their collaboration, the two groups combined their individual perspectives and skillsets. The young people from Raleigh Tanzania brought their WASH knowledge and cultural understanding of their home country, as well as their youth perspective, while the Reckitt employees were able to leverage their specific knowledge and expertise from within the health and hygiene sector. By teaming up, the initiative synergised a range of relevant skills and experience to develop an innovative new programme to combat the problem at hand.
The creation of a new innovative project
Together Tanzanian young people and Reckitt employees created the project known locally as Healthier Lives Happier Homes, a two year project which would improve health and hygiene in rural communities through three hygiene initiatives to embed sanitation behaviours in the home.
From ten ideas generated during the challenge, three initiatives were selected. They focused on training and equipping three influential groups which would be best placed to cascade hygiene practices in their communities. The three initiatives focused on:
Designed in partnership between Reckitt employees and Tanzanian youth, the three initiatives were then implemented by young Raleigh Tanzania volunteers over 12 months.
A new report showcased the impact of the project
Following completion of the project in December 2021, over 15,000 people in the target communities were now practicing improved sanitation and hygiene. From June to August 2021, an independent evaluation of the project took place to ascertain the effectiveness of the three initiatives and the extent of change across 20 communities. Launching in December 2021, the report found that:
Most of all, the report found that the collaboration between young people and business employees was crucial in the success of the project.
A synergy between youth and business has the power to create impact
At Raleigh International we have long known and trusted in the power that young people have to find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. But through the Healthier Lives Happier Homes project, we have seen that by combining the perspectives and determination of young people with the strengths and expertise from the business world, we can create a new model for development which can change lives for the better.
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