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Reader Submitted: Behavior-changing drinking and handwashing stations for kids
Innovation design firm Artefact and international development organization Splash designed a pair of drinking and handwashing stations that encourage healthy hygiene habits for children living in urban poverty and offer a new solution for the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector.
Splash identified a need for improved handwashing and drinking water stations in the countries where they work in Africa and Asia, but were unable to locate durable, high-quality products. The stations available in the market were time consuming to construct and maintain, and made from low quality materials that broke with repeated use. Additionally, stations were designed for adults, rather than children, with tall basins and sharp edges and corners.
Artefact and Splash combined years of behavior change research findings with smart industrial design to craft unique drinking and handwashing stations that are both engaging for children and accessible to local communities. Their inventive yet simple form also allows for local manufacturing and easy installation and maintenance.
Community is at the heart of the stations’ design. The new drinking and handwashing stations are designed for use in schools and other child-serving, institutional settings for the widest impact in educating and inspiring healthy habits. The station designs ensure that children gravitate to – and drink from – a safe water source and separate drinking and handwashing behaviors, reducing the potential for disease transmission.
Through their Project WASH in Schools for Everyone (Project WISE), Splash will deploy these stations at more than 2,000 schools in India and Ethiopia over the next five years, reaching one million kids. Through Splash Social Enterprise LLC, their goal is to sell these stations to community organizations and governments as well. The stations will help consistently reinforce good hygiene habits and improve well-being throughout the community for both children and adults.
https://www.core77.com/projects/88564/Behavior-changing-drinking-and-handwashing-stations-for-kids