We are Medde, Feline, and Charlotte, students from Delft, at the end of October, we will be flying to Ghana for three months to improve sanitation and health facilities in schools and local communities. This project is part of our minor International Entrepreneurship and Development at TU Delft.
Our project is in collaboration with The Good Roll Foundation (TGRF). The Good Roll is a company focused on the production of sustainable toilet paper, and with the profits generated, a foundation was established with the goal of building toilets in schools in Ghana. The construction of toilets will significantly improve sanitation conditions, which will also lead to a major improvement in the health of schoolchildren. However, simply building a toilet is not enough; a sustainable maintenance plan must be developed. This will enable local communities and schools to maintain the sanitation facilities themselves after TGRF has provided the necessary installations.
By identifying the local needs and preferences, we will work together with the local community to develop a sustainable maintenance plan, which can then be implemented in various communities across Ghana. The maintenance plan will include workshops, materials, and educational programs for schools. This will teach schoolchildren how to use these new toilets, and teachers will be provided with a teaching method to continue this education. Additionally, there will be a focus on training the local population on how to use and maintain these sanitation facilities, as well as developing an income-generating system to cover the maintenance costs. This way, after a strong start from us and TGRF, the local schools and communities will be able to maintain the toilets independently, allowing TGRF to focus on new schools in Ghana in the future.
