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At the beginning of the 21^st Century, some 1.1 billion people on Earth are still without access to safe water supply, and over 2.4 billion are without adequate hygiene and sanitation. Education and advocacy are key elements in the struggle to improve these conditions. In the Philippines, like much of the global South, one of the main causes of poor hygiene and sanitation is lack of education and advocacy on these issues. Clean water, sanitation, and hygiene must be more widely recognized as keys to poverty alleviation and sustainable development. In the Philippines, however, local, national, and regional capacities to advocate for sanitation and hygiene are weak.

 

To tackle these issues, the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Manila Campaign was launched in 2002. The campaign addresses the basic need for adequate water supply and sanitation in South-East Asia through advocacy and education. The WASH Manila Campaign has attempted traditional avenues of communication and information dissemination, such as radio, television, and print, to raise awareness about access to water, hygiene, and sanitation. However, many more people need to be educated on this issue.

 

This project explores the potential of ICTs and distance non-formal education to achieve the mandate of WASH Manila in an effective and sustainable manner. Using digital and electronic media, the project provides technology transfer, livelihood and entrepreneurial skills training, social marketing, and development of modules and educational materials to enhance the delivery of WASH information through distance non-formal education strategies. Technologies used in the delivery of the modules include: interactive video CDs, multimedia websites, remote videoconferencing, instructional programs, and short messaging services (SMS).

 

Research takes place in two study areas: one in an urban slum, and one in a rural area. In both study areas, the intervention being studied is the WASH Module, developed by the research team and delivered in digital format through distance education. The urban study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis, with an intervention and comparison group. In the rural study, a before-after study is used, with focus on more qualitative measures. Several factors are being considered in both studies, including socio-economic, educational, and gender dimensions.

 

To identify issues, problems, opportunities, resources and strategies for deploying distance education technologies to empower groups and organizations in training and teaching on health, hygiene and sanitation to distant Filipino communities. More specifically, the project aims to:

Development Impact

Throughout the project implementation, the response of people, especially youth, upon using the WASH online modules is very positive. They report that the learning process is more enjoyable and involving because the modules incorporate the use of many senses, including sight, hearing, and touch. The community as a whole finds the use of computers for distance education on WASH and other topics a promising development. They see computers as tools for empowerment and advocacy that can bring employment opportunities in an increasingly IT-driven economy.

 

From focus group discussions, the research team found that women still tend to be more uncomfortable with computer use than men. Nevertheless, women recognise the potential of computers as tools for communication and to help improve the lives of their families and communities. This is different from men's perception of computers as a device to be used for business, education, and entertainment. According to preliminary data, there are no significant differences between genders in terms of overall scores in the tests given by the WASH Module. Three interactive modules (available in the "Outputs" section below) are among the different educational tools developed through this project.