WASH PROJECTMacasandig Gym Evacuation Center

A. INTRODUCTION

a. Rationale for the communication planAfter the Sendong Calamity, Cagayan de Oro, caught off guard, was in serious need of organization and management. This was particularly apparent inside the Macasandig Evacuation center, one of the biggest centers in Cagayan de Oro, housing over a thousand families during the peak moments of the disaster. With this, this group together with the Catholic Relief Services, made an effort to coordinate with each other as part of the SLP program of XU and came up with a campaign promoting Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH). b. Communication strategy: social marketing

The group followed a process of surveying, pretesting and implementation to make possible the social marketing strategy.

c. AdoptersAdopters of the Campaign will be the Evacuees of Macasandig Covered Court.

B. CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES

a. Desired KAPOn Hand Washing a. At the end of the symposium, 90% of the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts should be able to enumerate the steps in proper hand washing.b. At the end of 1 week, the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts will be more predisposed to the proper hand washing methods.c. At the end of 2 weeks, 90% of the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts should be able to practice the proper hand washing methods better than their previous ways.Macasandig Evacuees should be able to apply proper hand washing every day. Through the various instructional

materials like the PSA, brochures, and posters they should be able to know it by heart. They should be able to know the basic importance of proper hand washing, then understand, and apply it in the evacuation center. And also they should be able to at least let others know about the basic hand washing, in that way they are able to stay away from getting ill and at the same time the person they are helping too. On the use of latrines:a. At the end of the symposium, 90% of the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts should be able to know the importance of latrines.b. At the end of 1 week, the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts will be more comfortable in using latrines.c. At the end of 2 weeks, 90% of the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts should be able to use the latrines more often than before.The use of latrines should be used more often so that the evacuees will be more comfortable. By knowing its importance it help the evacuees realize that using latrines has its own importance.

On drinking water:a. At the end of the symposium, 90% of the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts should be able to identify the illnesses brought by drinking untreated water. b. At the end of 1 week, the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts will be more cautious in the illnesses brought by drinking untreated/unsafe water.c. At the end of 2 weeks, 90% of the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts should be able to treat their water or drink distilled/mineral water.The evacuees must drink safe drinking

water (distilled/ mineral/treated). They should avoid drinking water that is not safe. Evacuees must at least check the water that they drink or serve their children/ families. They should have the idea about the illnesses brought by untreated water for them to realize the effects and also for them not to be so lax when there are some symptoms that one of their family members might be experiencing. On SWM a. At the end of the symposium, 90% of the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts should be able to differentiate the three different types of garbage: Biodegradable, Non-biodegradable and Residual.b. At the end of 1 week, the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts will be more open and conscious in separating their garbage into three different types. c. At the end of the symposium, 90% of the evacuees of Macasandig covered courts should be able to practice segregating their garbage into three different types and be able to clean their surroundingsBy knowing, understanding, and practicing SWM, the evacuees will be able to somehow help their surroundings clean. They should know the types of garbage’s so that they will be able to throw it in the proper bin. Through daily practices, it will sooner or later be a habit. In that way, there is lesser garbage, less smell/odor, less work from the garbage collectors, and the surrounding will be not be prone to sickness, or danger.

B. Desired reach/coverageWe, the promoters of this campaign would like to extend our topic not just for the benefit for ourselves but also

to other people. We do not only focus on the basic steps and methods on proper hand washing, use of latrines, safe drinking water, and segregation of wastes, but also we would like to extend our campaign for the effects or outcome when one practices the steps. In that way, the evacuees do not just only know its ways but also understand the reasons for doing so. The basic question would be “ngano lugar kailangan manghugas ug kamot? ngano kailangan paman mag gamit ug latrine? ngano kailanagan paman i-treat ang tubig?, etc ” questions like that may enter into their minds, that is why we need to let them understand how far it can take when they follow the proper ways. Both may benefit from our campaign. On HygieneTaking a bath everyday will not only clean the body but also promote relaxation and improve blood flow. On Proper Hand WashingProper hand washing prevent health issues like flu, colds, and other communicable diseases.Importance of latrinesFlies are major carriers of germs which are usually found in dirty latrines.Importance of cleanlinessCleaning water tanks/containers is the basic element of water sanitation. If not water tanks are properly cleaned, simple sediments are formed in the bottom which prevents chlorine and other treatment materials to enter the tank.

c. Targeted location Our target location for our campaign is the Macasandig Covered Courts Evacuation Center. Where in, the people who stays in that evacuation center are the families coming from Tambo, Cala- Cala, Biasong, and from St.

Ignatius. Despite of the many challenges we have faced and the changes that was applied. Still, we made our instructional materials in line with the Macasandig Evacuees. The language used pictures, etc. The Macasandig Evacuation Center has around 300 plus families and per family has around 3-20 family members base from our KAP Survey Results.

d. Other measurable indicatorsWe, the promoters think that through commitment signing which is a statement underscoring their commitment to proper hand washing will be written and signed by the target adopters will indicate how committed the evacuees is in applying what we have shared to them. It would measure how committed they are to continue practicing it with or without us telling them to do so. Also it would measure their sincerity since we are not just the benefits from our campaign but of course they are the ones who benefits from us. In addition, it would also measure their memory retention. Lastly, it would measure how concern they are for their selves and for their families as well especially their children who is more prone to sickness/illnesses since their bodies are not that fully nourished and their immune system is not strong to keep their body fight against germs and bacteria’s.

B . I M P L E M E N T A T I O N /CAMPAIGN STAGE

i. Communication channel mix usedThe group decided to make use of the following general approaches for using communication channel mix: • Interpersonal Communicationledo Symposium

o Educational session through games• MassCommunicationledo Public Service Announcemento Campaign Jingle• SelectiveCommunicationo Posterso Cardboard fans (in lieu of typical brochures) with general information about WASHii. Creative execution strategies usedThe group agreed upon execution strategies to be used to present the message to the target adopters:• Rationalo Invite authorities/ speakers from WASH-CRSo • PositiveEmotionalAppeao Mascot • RationalandPositiveo Colorful graphic aids and picturesiii. Promotional stints/activities employedThe team had come up with a catchy jingle inspired by the singing of “Happy Birthday Song” twice when washing hands:

Dili kalimtan Ang kamot hugasanSabunan ug nusnusan Sa tubig banlawan Ang kamot hugasanPara sakit malikayanAng kamot hugasan Para happy tang tanan

iv. Institutional support solicited Since the WASH project is under the Catholic Relief Services, the group was supposedly to be financed by them. But due to some unavoidable circumstances, we ended up getting compensated by the Devcom Department.

C. LEASONS LEARNEDa. About the content of the projectHonestly, some members of the group had no idea on WASH. Details of it as a whole did not come to us and we only had little information about the Catholic Relief Services (CRS). We were full of questions until we were oriented by the CRS team. Knowing that the group

will be working under the organization, it made us feel so excited. However, all throughout the process of pre and post implementation, we, as a group, realized these things:• Sanitation and Hygienepromotion is not an easy job. The group has deemed that it’s a task that should be taken seriously with your utmost knowledge on the said topic and skills on influencing people’s minds and hearts through a sincere approach. Topics like handwashing, solid waste management, safe drinking water, and proper latrine use are several times taught in places like in the evacuation center making it cliché and very common to almost everyone. But being cliché and very common made it more challenging and difficult to do. • Inthiscampaignwithalltheseessential four key messages of WASH, the group acknowledges the importance of our role as Development Communicators to the people in the community especially in times of emergency and disaster. Our skills in community organizing, editing, journalism and educational communication will be a great help. • The four key messages of thecampaign which are proper handwashing, zero open defecation or proper use of latrines, safe and clean drinking water, and solid waste management are responsibilities of everyone that must be pushed through or promoted again and again in order for the people to fully understand its importance. We realized that in conducting a campaign such like this, there must be a concrete, systematic, resilient, and a very comprehensive plan which considers many factors like the target adopters, the area, and their level of knowledge as well as their attitudes and practices. b. About the processes/phases

undertakenThere were several processes that the group undertaken. These are: Pre-implementation• WASHorientation• KAP survey planning, actualimplementation and tabulation• Working on worksheets 1, 2,and 3• Planning and meeting forworksheets 4 to 8 which consist of the positioning of the social products, banner messages for each of the social products, campaign objectives, communication channels, execution strategies and the promotion strategies. • Printing/preparation of thematerials for the campaignThe hardest part would probably be the pre-implementation process since we are working from the scratch. To assess, identify, and analyze the KAP survey, social products, positioning as well as the banner messages and the kind of communication channels or strategies to use were truly a headache. However, we learned that such processes like these will enable us to tailor fit the campaign materials to be used for the campaign. Post implementationUnfortunately, due to certain changes and communication gaps that we met all the way to the actual implementation of the campaign, the group didn’t have the chance to implement it to our target adopters in the Macasandig evacuation center. A lot of misunderstandings happened. And we would say that, certainly, communication is always important in order for the ideas to meet, expectations to be clarified, and goals/objectives to be followed. Communication should always stand in the way in order to avoid problems and misunderstandings.

c. About the social product being marketedThe social products seemed to be very easy to promote but in a span of weeks undergoing the pre and post implementation, we grasped the idea that it is not easy even from the very beginning and for that, at all times, we should be flexible both in body and mind especially in conducting campaigns in response to emergencies and disasters. We also learned that the pacing and the timeline of such campaign like this may have the possibility of certain changes over time. Keeping in mind the social products and the beneficiaries of the campaign are major boosters to go on, to continue with the things that were already started and to strive for more in filing up the gaps in order to make the best out of every output.

RECOMMENDATIONSThe group recommends that before the Department of Development Communication enters into a partnership with NGOs, they must thoroughly discuss on what the terms and agreements are to avoid miscommunication between the two parties. When talented and creative students such as ourselves are grouped into one, there is no doubt that we want to create outstanding outputs and present them on time. However, when the two parties do not stand on the same ground or are not on the same track, more often then not, the result would be hastily created outputs.

The group also recommend that our partner organization, WASH - Catholic Relief Services (CRS) be firm on their decisions when they ask students like us to help them with their materials. For

the past two months, the group has been battered with too much confusion with what the original agreement was and what the organization really wants to get from us. We have been battered with too many revisions that they couldn’t even address in one or two sitting. Their decisions were not firm that it made us very impatient.

What we recommend to our partner organization is that they fully realize that we are helping them achieve something great for their organization to flourish, thus, abusing our talents, creativity and most importantly, our patience is not a very good way to create a good bond between Devcom and themselves. It would make the department think twice of actually getting involve with an NGO in the future.

Lastly, we recommend that our partner organization create a proper turnover of responsibility and accountabilities to the next person in charge so that the work or objective for which the organization was created will run smoothly. We hope that what they have done us will not happen again to the next group of students that want to help them.

Nonetheless, we still recommend that the department of Development Communication continue to create partnerships with NGOs to help build stronger relationships with each other and achieve a common goal, and that is to help and create development in the society.