BY NED GAGAHE
Primary School Principal of Marvin Community High School, Mclean James, says the school continues to face challenges in accessing proper Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities compared to other schools in Central Islands Province.
Marvin CHS is located in Haleta Village, Gela, Central Islands Province. This year, the school enrolled around 150 students.
It was recently elevated from a primary school to a community high school, with the intake of its first Year Seven students.
Speaking during the school’s Global Handwashing Day celebration on Wednesday October 15, 2025, James said Marvin CHS has not received the same level of support as other schools that already have well-established WASH facilities.
“I came from schools that were well-organised and had all the proper WASH facilities in place. But when I arrived at Marvin CHS, which is located in a rural area, I felt sorry to see that most of our facilities are locally made,” he said.
He said teachers and students have to be creative, building their own facilities using available materials such as drinking water bottles, bamboo, and other local resources.
“We want students — especially those who have never seen proper handwashing facilities — to learn from these creative setups. This helps them understand what handwashing requires and why it is important,” he explained.
James said despite the differences between Marvin CHS and better-funded schools, the school uses locally sourced materials to strengthen students’ knowledge of hygiene.
“There are clear differences, but we use local and creative resources to build students’ understanding of hygiene, even without the modern facilities that other schools have,” he said.
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