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Schools Find a New Way to Combat Student Absences: Washing Machines

Emily S. Rueb

March 13, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Schools have found that, among other deterrents, dirty clothes are one reason students skip school. Some, serving predominantly low-income populations, have now installed washing machines within their buildings, offering students free laundry services during the school day.

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India's Bathroom-Buses for Women Are a Step Toward 'Potty Parity'

Romita Saluja

March 06, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: India, Pune

In India, clean and safe restrooms for women can be difficult to find. Now, in Pune, old buses are being refurbished into public restrooms which see an average of 100 to 150 women every day. The buses are WiFi-enabled, sun-powered, and also feature showers, a diaper changing station, health information, sanitary pads, and more.

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Cities without sewers

Chelsea Wald

February 28, 2019 |

Rethink |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Haiti, Cap-Haïtien

A nonprofit in Haiti called SOIL with a business arm called EkoLakay is bringing back the old-fashioned idea of a container-based sanitation system. Customers rent toilets with containers in them, use them, and return them to EkoLakay to then be converted into highly nutritious compost. Piloted in 2011, the program has been successful serving more than 1,000 households (growing by 40 every month) with a staff of 58 mostly local workers. They attribute their success to using "applied resilience thinking", having many actors at different levels, and constantly adapting to new solutions and knowledge.

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For a Warming World, A New Strategy for Protecting Watersheds

Jacques Leslie

February 19, 2019 |

Yale Environment 360 |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Santa Fe, New Mexico

As climate change alters environments across the United States, it has become increasingly important to manage watersheds as a preventative measure to wildfires. Amid responses across the country, one private-public partnership, the Rio Grande Water Fund, is leading the way, demonstrating enough success that the model has become federal policy. The Fund brings together government agencies, NGOs, businesses, and residents to fund watershed restoration which, in turn, creates jobs and build more resilient ecosystems.

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When public restrooms fail, rent them out as churches?

Anthony Langat

February 14, 2019 |

Devex |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Kibera, Nairobi

On World Toilet Day in 2014, the Kenyan government promised to build 180 public toilets in an ambitious move to combat the issue of public sanitation. The program went well once the keys were handed off to the National Youth Service of Kenya as a means of income, but issues quickly arose that could not be resolved because of a lack of further funds. The youth has since transformed their toilets into a rental space for local churches, such as Christ Miracle Church for All Nations in Laini Saba.

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Tackling the challenge of child malnutrition in simple ways: Kaduna State's approach

Bashar Abubakar

February 04, 2019 |

Nigeria Health Watch |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Kaduna

Food demonstrations and education campaigns enroll mothers in the fight against malnutrition and stunting among children. With 30% of children in Nigeria suffering from the effects of malnutrition, according to a 2018 UNICEF study, the state of Kaduna has implemented an emergency campaign. The Emergency Nutrition Action Plan includes home visits as well as proper nutritional and hygiene demonstrations at local medical centers.

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How Poop-Eating Worms Could Help Save Thousands Of Lives Each Year

Oliver Balch

January 16, 2019 |

The Huffington Post |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

The Bill Gates Foundation is currently funding a number of organizations that seek to solve the rate of open defecation by creating low-cost toilets that utilize the feces within them. One organization, called Sanergy, operates in 11 neighborhoods across Nairobi and uses a systems-based approach that takes into account financing and maintenance of the toilet as well as selling the waste as fertilizer. Another, called Tiger Toilets in India, uses a septic tank toilet that places worms within the drainage layer who then consume the feces and produce fertilizer to be used or sold.

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In Pakistan, sanitation and water access improves quality of life

Mahwish Qayyum

January 14, 2019 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Pakistan

In Pakistan, water sanitation and hygiene is more than just a public health issue - it's also an issue of women's rights and safety as women face harassment when attempting to access water or when having to defecate in places that are not private. However, new hand pumps from NGOs and other state-sanctioned improvement projects have helped ensure that women have clean water closer to home, and that working toilets are provided at schools.

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India's city of Pune focuses on sanitation system of the future

Linda Givetash Priti Gupta

January 10, 2019 |

NBC News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Pune

Public restrooms are not the norm throughout India, making open defecation a well-practiced habit, but in Nune, India, a Toilet Board Coalition is working to change that. From mobile bathrooms to built in sensors that will detect potential disease outbreaks, the city is focusing on rewriting its sanitation history.

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Three promising new technologies could help send stormwater to taps in thirsty cities

Lindsey Konkel

January 04, 2019 |

Ensia |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Cape Town

With water scarcity becoming a reality for many cities, people are looking towards the premise of recycling stormwater into drinkable water collected from urban runoff. One major limitation of this is that the water often is too polluted for consumption, however researchers have piloted several new technologies that may hold the key to being able to scale the stormwater recycling solution.

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