Urinals for the girl child : a friendly design for a girl's "short call"

Mirembe Infant Primary School is a non-government-aided school located in Nateete, Rubaga division, Uganda. The school has over 808 children, some 463 girls and 345 boys. The school faced multiple challenges, as the available 8-stance latrine with no washrooms was not adequate for the increasing number of children in the school. Due to congestion, pupils would spend 10-15 minutes waiting for their turn to use the latrine. Often the younger pupils were pushed to the back of the queue by the older ones. Secondly, the administration realised that sharing of the latrines for urination by both girls and boys was affecting class attendance and pupils’ performance.In 2007 the school administration, spearheaded by the head teacher, contacted Community Integrated Development Initiatives (CIDI) with a request to construct new latrines with girls’ washrooms and urinals at the school, which was honoured in 2008 by CIDI. Network for Water and Sanitation Uganda (NETWAS) in partnership with CIDI carried out a field study to document usage, operation and maintenance of girls’ urinals. The study also aimed at finding out perceptions and attitudes of girls and teachers in relation to usage and maintenance of the girls’ urinals.