How would you feel if your daughter or granddaughter had to miss school during menstruation due to inadequate facilities? Thanks to twelve new menstrual health management (MHM) toilets now under construction in a Cambodian Kampong, girls will be able to attend school whilst mentruating. Supported by a District Grant from the Rotary Foundation, the Rotary Club of Camberwell has partnered with the Running Water Project Cambodia to deliver these facilities.
Kampong Thom High School is the largest school in the Cambodian province of Kampong Thom, and despite having 3,133 students and 136 teachers, it currently has only 48 functioning toilets: well below the World Health Organisation's recommended standards for a school of this size. The project involves the construction of two blocks of six MHM toilets and two blocks of 10 urinals. With this new construction, the number of functioning toilets and urinals will increase by 25%, significantly enhancing both the school's WASH and MHM facilities, thus reducing the prevalence of communicable diseases and increasing attendance rates.The addition of twelve MHM toilets is especially critical for female students, as research shows that girls often miss school due to inadequate facilities at the time of menstruation. The new toilets will help ensure that girls can attend school at this time. Moreover, the new urinals will ease the pressure on male toilets, allowing some to be repurposed for female use.
Construction of the four new toilet blocks commenced in early January, with completion expected by the end of February 2025. This project is the first stage of a broader, multi-phase WASH master plan for Kampong Thom High School. The design of these MHM toilets and urinals incorporates the latest advancements, ensuring maximum safety, usability and hygiene.
The cost of the Kampong Thom High School upgrade is approximately USD20,000. This is the 11th joint project between Rotary Camberwell and the Running Water Project. Since 2019, the Rotary Club of Camberwell has provided over AUD43,600 for various WASH improvements in schools throughout Kampong Thom Province, positively impacting thousands of students. Its commitment to improving educational conditions in Cambodia has been invaluable.
Since completing its first project in 2016, the $160,000 AUD raised by the Running Water Project and its supporters has been spent in 72 schools helping more than 20,000 students and teachers. This includes: 30 water tanks and pumps, over 100 toilets built or converted to support menstrual health management and 60 urinals (to provide greater access to toilets for female teachers and students) and over 80 hand basins installed or renovated.