The Significance of Hygienic Toilets and Access to Clean Water for Early Childhood Development
The numbers don’t lie. In Nigeria, over half of all primary schools lack proper toilets and clean water. This isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a barrier to education, health, and dignity. When you think about the challenges children face just to get to school, sanitation shouldn’t be one of them.
Without safe toilets or clean water, children are exposed to illness daily. Germs spread quickly in overcrowded, unsanitary classrooms. Many pupils miss school regularly due to diarrhea, skin infections, or other preventable illnesses. This isn’t about missing a few days of class; it’s about falling behind and eventually giving up.
Poor sanitation doesn’t affect every student the same way either. Girls, especially those in upper primary classes, often stay home during their menstrual cycles if there are no safe, private facilities. Some eventually drop out entirely. It's a pattern that plays out in school after school, silently cutting futures short.
At Digging Well Foundation, we’re not okay with that. We’re doing something about it.
We don’t just talk about clean water and sanitation, we deliver it. We construct modern toilets that are easy for children to use and maintain. We drill wells and install hand pumps so that students and teachers have reliable access to clean water right within the school compound.
But we also know it’s not just about facilities. Habits matter. That’s why we host hygiene seminars and handwashing training, giving kids the tools they need to stay healthy. We make sure each classroom has waste bins and provide visual handwashing guides to reinforce daily routines.
Take Jehovah Jireh African Primary School in Osun State. Before our team arrived, the school had no source of clean water. Students had to leave the school compound to look for water, if they found any at all. Today, there’s a working hand pump on-site. Kids no longer miss class just to get a drink or wash up.
One student told me, “It’s so much easier to get clean water now. It makes a big difference.” And it really does.
At CAC Primary School, also in Osun State, we recently held a hygiene seminar, focusing on handwashing and healthy daily habits. This school had no toilets, no waste disposal system, and no water source before we got involved. Our first engagement was a seminar, but that’s only the beginning. We're working closely with the headteacher to help improve sanitation on a larger scale, step by step.
Every improvement in sanitation gives a child more time in class, better health, and a more positive outlook. We’ve seen firsthand how a cleaner environment shapes a healthier mentality. Poor hygiene doesn’t just make kids sick, it makes them feel unimportant. It reinforces the false message that they don’t matter. We want to change that.
If you share the belief that every child deserves a safe and clean environment for learning, we invite you to join us.
We welcome your thoughts and invite you to contact us if you wish to learn more about our work.
How You Can Help
Donate: Your contributions allow us to expand this program to more schools.
By: Tolulope Adebajo
Project Director
Digging Well Foundation, Nigeria
Email: tolu.adebajo@diggingwell.org