1. PHAST Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation
Rotary International Conference, Lisbon, 2013
Mayling Simpson, Consultant
Colorado, USA
This presentation is about the methodology called PHAST and what is behind it.

2. Community planning meetings often start out like this.

3. With PHAST, they end up like this……..

4. And like this – led by the community

5. What is PHAST?
A participatory approach to working with communities on sanitation, hygiene and water.
A methodology based on SARAR
Developed from field-testing Africa, Asia, Latin America, USA
Just read the slide

6. Associative strengths Resourcefulness Action-planning Responsibility
SARAR nurtures:
Self-esteem
Associative strengths
Resourcefulness
Action-planning
Responsibility
SARAR stands for …. These are the qualities and conditions that people need to make changes in their lives and communities. SARAR aims at building these qualities.

7. Underlying principles of SARAR
People will solve their own problems best in a participatory group process.
A group collectively will have enough information and experience to begin to address its own problems.
Just read the slide

8. The aim of PHAST
To empower communities to manage their water and to control sanitation-related diseases.
By promoting health awareness and understanding which leads to environmental and behavioral improvements.
PHAST is a variation on SARAR that is directed toward improved water supply, sanitation and hygiene behaviors. Read the slide.

9. How PHAST works
PHAST uses methods and materials that stimulate the participation of women, men and children in the development process.
It uses trained extension workers and graphic materials that reflect the culture and characteristics of communities.
Read the slide.

10. Underlying Principles of PHAST
Lasting change in people’s behavior requires health awareness and understanding. To change their behaviors, people must believe that better hygiene and sanitation will lead to better health and better living.
Read the slide

11. Concept-based learning
Concept-based learning is more effective in bringing about sustainable change than message-based teaching.
PHAST is based upon concept-based learning.
Read the slide

12. Bringing people together to plan changes
Assessing their own knowledge base.
Investigating their own environmental situation.
Visualizing a future scenario.
Analyzing constraints to change
Planning for change
Implementing change.
PHAST brings people together to plan changes in their communities by: read the slide

13. Community Development Principles of PHAST
Communities should determine their own priorities for disease prevention.
People collectively possess an enormous depth of experience and knowledge.
Communities are capable of arriving at a consensus on hygiene behaviors and sanitation systems.
PHAST is based upon a number of principles – those things which we believe hold true across cultures. These are: read the slide

14. Community Development Principles of PHAST (continued)
When people understand why improved sanitation and hygiene is to their advantage, they will act.
All people are capable of understanding that faeces carry disease and can learn to trace and describe the faecal-oral route.
Communities can identify appropriate barriers to block this transmission.

15. PHAST- 7 steps 1. Problem identification 2. Problem analysis
3. Planning for solutions
4. Selecting the options
5. Planning for new facilities and behavior change
6. Planning for monitoring and evaluation
7. Participatory evaluation
The PHAST process takes the community through a series of steps.

16. Tools and Techniques Role plays of behaviors, illnesses
Community walks and maps
Making the feces transmission routes using drawings
Sorting drawings of good and bad hygiene behaviors
Sorting drawings of sanitation options
Selecting what the community wants

17. fingers flies faeces food mouth fields fluids Hand washing Cooking
Pit toilet
This is a diagram of the faecal-oral route of disease transmission, called the F-diagram. (Go over the diagram, first with the routes and then with the barriers indicated as vertical lines.) Our experience with PHAST shows that people can actually make this diagram using pictures instead of words. When they make it, it becomes clear to them what they must do to stop faecally-transmitted diseases.
VIP, flush or ecological toilet
fluids
Boiling or disinfection

18. Pictures instead of words
PHAST uses drawings to illustrate ideas so that illiterate people can participate.
Read the slide.

19. Making a Community Map - Eritrea

20. Principles on decision-making
The people closest to the problem are those best able to find the solution.
The community understands its own situation best.
Those who create decisions will be committed to following them through.
PHAST is also based upon a set of principles concerning decision-making. Read the slide.

21. Principles on decision-making (continued)
The more of their own material and financial resources people invest in change, the greater will be their commitment to following it through and sustaining it.
Self-esteem is a prerequisite to decision-making and follow-through.
Read the slide.

22. Key factors needed for effective participation
Respect for people’s knowledge and ideas
Faith in the creative potential of people
Minimum of structure; maximum of participation
Loyalty to the group
Commitment to helping people express themselves.
There are a set of key factors that are needed for effective participation of people. These factors rest mostly in the program officers, facilitators and community leaders. These are: read the slide.

23. YES Is PHAST successful?
PHAST has been applied in over 20 countries: Latin America, East Africa, West Africa, Former Soviet Republics, and USA.
Read the slide.

24. Getting Ready to do PHAST
Facilitator training – 2 weeks
Artist to make drawings of local environments and cultures
Read the slide.

25. Requirements for Success
Training of facilitators
Plenty of time with the community
Willingness to budget the software sufficiently
Allowing the community to own the process and project
Do this at the beginning, not at the end!

26. CHAST Children’s Hygiene And Sanitation Training
Primary School children
ages 5 to 12

27. History Grew out of PHAST
Created in 2004 for Somalia. (Caritas Swiss & Luxembourg)
Adopted by Gov. of Kenya in 2007

28. CHAST Tools 3 story characters 1 or more puppets (with names)
Colored posters
Role plays
Puppet shows
Card games
Songs
Art

29. 5 Steps for Children’s Hygiene Behaviors
Introduction
Problem Identification
Problem Analysis
Practicing Good Behavior
Monitoring

30. Further reading (see handout)
PHAST Theory: Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation: A new approach to working with communities, 1996, WHO.
PHAST Practice: PHAST Step-by-step Guide: A participatory approach for the control of diarrhoeal disease, 1998, WHO
CHAST – A Practical Guide, 2004, Caritas Switzerland
Read the slide.