Authors: Seanghak Khin, Brigit Zuber
Video Credits: Deadbeat Productions

Caritas Switzerland in Cambodia implements the Blue Schools approach in 45 public schools in the current SWSC project. Since 2018, the approach was successfully piloted in eight schools within the context of a community-based disaster risk reduction (DDR) project in Banteay Meanchey.

In the following video, three school principals and their students share their Blue Schools experiences. The children explain what they have learned about water quality and show how to properly clean water filters. The school principals explain how good personal hygiene is practiced at the schools in groups where the children wash their hands and brush their teeth at least twice a day.

 

Children as Change Agents

In the video, the school principals also share how the activities in the Blue School project have changed their teaching methods to be more practice-oriented and participatory, for instance, by letting the senior students instruct the junior students. Through hands-on practice of good hygiene, climate-smart agriculture and sustainable waste management, children are much more likely to remember the good practices and to mobilize their parents and their community.

“I practice the things I’ve learned also at home, such as washing my hands or cleaning and maintaining water filters.”

Female student at a public Blue School of Caritas Switzerland in Cambodia

Student Enrolment in Public Blue Schools on the Rise

The successful implementation of these eight pilot Blue Schools has led to a significant increase in the number of students enrolling every year. Some students even change from private schools to these “blue” public schools supported by Caritas Switzerland.