For immediate release: April 15, 2010

Contact:    Molly Ward

Over 100,000 Copies of Award Winning Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Materials Reach Teachers and Students

Bozeman, Mont. 2, April, 2010 – Educational materials developed by the Project WET Foundation in Bozeman, Montana, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), were delivered to Zimbabwe in September 2009. The 150,000 books, which include booklets for students and a guide for educators with hands-on activities about Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), are in the process of being distributed to teachers and students throughout the country and have to date reached over 3,300 schools throughout all ten provinces in Zimbabwe.

Starting in 2008 Zimbabwe has seen one of the worst cholera outbreaks in recent history. According to the World Health Organization, as of May 2009 the outbreak had affected 55 of 62 districts in all ten provinces and over 98,000 suspected cases of cholera had been reported—including almost 5,000 deaths. Project WET WASH materials give students direct actions they can take to improve their healthy habits and protect themselves and their families against this deadly waterborne disease.

Due to a lack of quality and useful materials about water sanitation and hygiene for children and teachers in sub-Saharan Africa, USAID supported the development of new materials through the Project WET Foundation. Starting in 2007, Project WET worked directly with educators and officials in Uganda to identify appropriate content specific to the needs of the African audience. The result was the award-winning Healthy Water, Healthy Habits, Healthy People Educator’s Guide and accompanying student booklet, along with additional children’s booklets and posters about the water cycle and Nile River watershed. The materials were originally distributed to 13 sub-Saharan African countries including Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia, reaching more than 30,000 schools; 175,000 teachers; and five million students.

Continued interest in the materials has instigated further printing and distribution, including the 150,000 additional copies printed for Zimbabwe. Requests for materials continue in Africa, with additional interest in adaptations for Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia.

For success stories related to the use of these materials, visit www.projectwet.org.