How to Build a Tippy-Tap

Many community members in rural Uganda suffer poor health because they do not possess the knowledge of adequate hygiene. Serious illnesses can easily be halted with simple prevention strategies. Washing hands with soap and water, especially after using the toilet, is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of disease.

In Kiwangala, where Children’s Sure House is located, the toilets are basic pit latrines and there is no access to running water. The combination creates a thriving breeding ground for shigella, campylobacter, amebiasis, giardia, and even intestinal worms. These bacterial and protozoan complications are serious enough on there own, however, a high population of Kiwangalans' immune systems are already compromised by HIV. The consequences of infection could be potentially devastating.

The Senior 3 class at CSH has decided to do something about the problem. They are building 20 low-cost hand washing stations, called Tippy-Taps, outside many of the latrines in the community. The structure is a post and lentil design with a small plastic jerrycan that hangs off the top beam. It is called a Tippy-Tap because when the jerrycan tips over water comes out and the user can wash his or her hands. A Tippy-Tap can be made cheaply and easily by recycling available materials found in the community.

Here’s How to Build a Tippy-Tap:

Materials- A jerrycan with a handle (a jerrycan is a plastic container used to hold cooking oil, motor oil, or paint), 2 pieces of wood for posts (approximately 1.5 meters long and 7 centimeters thick, a piece), 1 stick of wood to hang the jerrycan from (approximately 1 meter long, 2 centimeters thick), 1 stick of wood (same size) that will act as a foot pedal, a sturdy string or clothesline (1 meter), nails, two plastic bags, some medium-sized rocks, a small piece of wire (1/2 centimeter), and an old plastic margarine container.

Tools- A saw, a shovel, a hammer, and a knife.

Directions-

1. Start out by digging 15 centimeter holes for the posts to sit in. Space them about ½ a meter apart from one another.
   


2. Cut the wood to the post’s desired length, wrap the bottom parts with the plastic bags (this prevents the wood from rotting) and then put them in the ground. Fortify the stability of the posts by filling in the remaining space empty space in the holes with a mixture of rocks and dirt.
   


3. Next, unscrew the lid of the jerry can and poke a hole in the top large enough for the string to pass through. Tie one end of the string to the wire. Thread the string through the hole so that the wire sits snuggly in the underside of the lid.
   Poke a hole about ¾ up the side of the jerrycan opposite of the handle. This is the spout where the water will come out.
   


4. Slide one of the slender pieces of wood through the handle of the jerrycan. Make sure that it can rock back and forth in the middle of the beam. If the stick is too big, whittle it down. Nail one side of the beam into the top of one of the posts so that the spout is facing you. Don’t nail the other side of the beam directly into the remaining post. Instead, hammer in two nails on either side of the beam. Leave enough space in between the nails so that the beam can be lifted up and the jerrycan can be removed periodically for cleaning.
   


5. Cut the top half of the margarine container off. Punch many holes through the bottom half and then nail it to the top of one of the posts. This is a soap holder. The holes in the bottom will drain water from the rain.
   


6. Dig a trench about ½ a meter and 1/3 meter deep long under the bottom of the posts and fill it with rocks. This will prevent the ground from eroding.
   


7. Finally, screw the lid back on the jerrycan and tie the end of the string to the remaining stick. Fasten it in a way that the tied end of the stick is lifted 7 ½ centimeters off of the ground. Step down on the stick, allowing the jerrycan to tip forward, and place your hands under the spout to wash them.

Here are some other Tippy-Tap resources on the Web:
The IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre provides some more background on the benifets of Tippy-Taps.
Tearfund International Learning Zone describes how to build a Tippy-Tap with strings instead of posts.
This is a video showing another Tippy Tap invention.

Seed and Light International Partners with Children's Sure House

Seed and Light International, an American Non-Profit Organization, has sent over 10 lbs. of vegetable seeds to Children's Sure House (CSH)in Uganda. In 2005 the community of Nunspeet in Holland donated funds to CSH towards the purchase of land for agricultural use. The donation of seeds has stimulated the CSH agricultural project that will generate food and income.

With the help of students from CSH in Kiwangala, Masaka, a large nursery bed was sowed. Early flat dutch cabbage, mustard, red cabbage, honeydew melon, cantelope, pablano pepper, sweet pepper, pole tomato, silvery fir tree tomato, candy onion, and carrots were planted. As the vegetables grow closer to maturity, the students will transplant them in their homes.

Children's Sure House Older Persons' Program

Childrens Sure House is an NGO engaged in reforming and transforming the communities where it operates. Our success comes from the fact that the projects for our beneficiaries are situated in those areas thus our deep involvement which helps us to be familiar with the people’s problems.

Initially we were solely concerned with the academic social and moral affairs of the children; we therefore fore sighted our mission also to help the older persons knowing that we could not have gotten far without dealing with both parties

It was seen to be more viable for Childrens Sure house to involve the older persons as much as it involved the young children.

Out of the seventeen villages in three different parishes where our scope of operation demarcated to operate we have held numerous progressive meetings since our inauguration in August 2006. In our mission we were dedicated to highlight the welfare and well-being of the older persons in this areas which we operate, to mention too; we have not turned down our efforts. We have emphasised the aspect of the older persons working together to deal with every one's problem.

For most of our time and efforts we have worked with these older people through the different projects that were mentioned in the project paper earlier thus empowering the older persons with the drive to participate and improve the relationship among them. the Fashion and Crafts, brush making, weaving, Ventilation bricks and floor tiles, bark cloth making projects have been instrumental bringing up the idea of working together and getting us deeply involved in their daily lives and therefore knowing them for what they are and homes they come from.

This involvement also culminated in over the last two years building three houses of elderly persons through our local means.

Our efforts were vaster and our helping hand reached far to the other grieving older persons, I would like to bring to our attention this lady as afore mentioned, we built her a new house after we identified that she was sleeping in an already fallen house but she could squeeze her self through the debrised entrance and to her bedroom, as long as she knew where her bed is she did not care if it could bury her one unfortunate day.
It was integrated into the activities of Children Sure House – Older Persons Project and LST (Livingstone) we built her a new house beside her old scare.

One other house is being built right now with the help of our long term volunteers Sebastian and Reuben from Livingstone Organization in Holland with the help of other volunteers from Britain called Suzie and Megan.

We are very appreciative for all the people who bequeathed of their money, time and energy towards this cause after seeing the need on the website of Sebastian and Reuben at http://www.lst.nl/ who also volunteered to take care of cleaning the house compounds, raised money upon the strategy and took care of her jigger problem where by they got rid of all of the jiggers that had attacked her feet.

I want to draw your attention once again, on one old woman called Maria Ndenzako. This old woman had nine children and all of them are now deceased. She recalls that she got her first child during the regime of Kabaka (king) Muteesa II of Buganda. (The first Ugandan President) implying that she had her first son in the fifties (1950’s)

Unfortunately all of her children died and she has no idea where the grand children are. Her house started falling apart and barely anyone could come to her rescue. Thank God that she had a piece of land where the new house is being built for her. The local authorities could not do anything for her for the reason that they say that the Central government does not support them with such welfare to such cause.

Mr. Martin Mpanga of Children’s Sure House realized the ordeal of this woman as he was doing his community development work and visited her dilapidated house. She basically slept like an animal and her body is eaten by jiggers. He involved the Childrens Sure House/Livingstone (CSH/LST) volunteers for help.

It would be very gratifying if this if this woman sleeps in this new house. This is the look of the new site for the house that is being built for her as compared to her old house. We believe that once this if finished she will be able to accommodate her grand children as well and live without he scare of being buried in the wreck.

“…Even if she dies after a day of sleeping in her new house I believe she will die a happy woman…” explains Martin Mpanga. Megan and Suzie have promised to work on her in order to heal the jiggers which may soon cause her death if they are not dealt with.
May our God of heaven bless you two folds for your prayers and contributions.

In all our work we looked up to observe different kinds of impressions, what vividly caught our attention was the willingness of the members to help despite their lack of amenities, this has made us conclude that if we sustain the government’s getting involved in these kinds of strategies our goal will be achieved. We were in close connection with the local leaders especially the Development Local leader, Mr. Jaburilu Matovu who in person physically participated in the building of the house.
In his own words he appreciated the noble work the Project is undertaking and called upon local members to mount the capacity to help other anguished members of the society. He did also reassured the Project leaders that the call to which they have been called is challenging though, but when they work together the tragedies will be long gone.
The councilor, Mr. John Bwankya Ntanda of Ngereko parish, a resident too; was always there in person to progress with us in our endeavors. In his own words he lamented how timely the initiative took its course because of the numerous bereaved older persons of their grand children in the parish and commended the government of the Republic of Uganda through the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development for setting up institutional development through the Older Persons sector and also this inspired him to come and gladly partake in this noble work.

It was to our admiration too, to involve people in farming practices since most of the people there are farmers and exclusively depend on subsistence farming to get food and an undersized source of income. Most of the land is covered by the bushes which we want to get rid of some and put small sized plantations. In this therefore the masses can realize what wealth they have. Mr. Martin Mpanga masterminded the activity to revitalize the desire of our descended grand fathers who took up to massive agriculture to get food to feed them, with what we have we believe we can bring that back to light, later new methods will be employed for example we can distribute seeds to be planted.

Recently we have pinpointed an old man by the names of Wasswa who was been living in a wretched house for the last two years and we as Childrens Sure House felt that we should take the responsibility of constructing him a house. Regarding the fact that he had lost his twin brother a few months ago – made him heedlessly live his life from then. Efforts of constructing Wasswa a home have so already taken place with trips of sand and the foundation together with the construction process.