Uganda’s Minister of State for Water Jennifer Namuyangu Byakatonda is one of the winners in the Sanitation Champion category of a Golden Poo Award.

The Golden-Poo-Awards ceremony took place on 15 October 2009 in the Prince Charles Cinema in London. The event was organised by PooP Creative and sponsored by the London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the UK Department for International Development (DfID) as part of the Global Handwashing Day activities in the UK.

The Golden Poo Award for Hygiene Champion went to Mary Swai, Head of the Environmental Sanitation and Hygiene section of the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and Rebecca Budimu, WASH Specialist from UNICEF Tanzania’s Young Child Survival and Development Section.

Ms. Budimu has been working with UNICEF as a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) specialist for the past 14 years, often as the only WASH staff member in the country. Rebecca’s family did not have a latrine, but instead used the bush. This experience reinforced her commitment and understanding for adoption of good hygiene and sanitation practices – particularly at the household level.

The remaining Gold Poo Awards went to the winners of an animated film competition set up by PooP Creative and The London International Animation Festival:

• Number ONE film Dancing In The Loo by Delphine Mandin
• Number TWO film A Film About Poo by Emily Howells and Anne Wilkins
• Runner-up film Are You Spreading Poo? by Rob and Tom Sears

Source: Golden Poo Awards web site; UNICEF, 16 Oct 2009

Tags: africa, hygiene promotion