At least 20 schools in Saint Lucia’s most water-stressed areas could receive water tanks and solar-powered pumps under a project being finalised to strengthen water access at schools.
The initiative was developed after several schools reported having insufficient water for five days amid severe water stress in the country, according to Onika Benn, Saint Lucia’s in-country facilitator with the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Partnership.
Benn disclosed details of the initiative during discussions following Wednesday’s launch of UNICEF’s Child-Centred Climate Analysis for Building Resilience, which examines climate risks and their impact on children across six Eastern Caribbean countries.
Benn, who is embedded within the Department of Sustainable Development, said Saint Lucia had participated in the development of the study and that evidence emerging from the process was already being put to use.
“Some of you might be unaware of what Saint Lucia was facing, or perhaps we’re still in the midst of it, a severe water stress issue, and several of the schools had complained that they did not have sufficient water for a five-day period,” she said.
She said the Department of Sustainable Development subsequently worked with the Department of Education to develop a project targeting schools in the areas most affected.
“With the support of the Department of Sustainable Development and some of the data that came out of this study, we worked with the Department of Education to develop a comprehensive project concept that would provide at least five days of water for at least 20 schools within the most water-stressed areas of Saint Lucia.”
Benn said the project had now reached the finalisation stage.
“We’re finalising this concept and support has been pledged to ensure that schools are able to receive water tanks, solar-powered water pumps, and water pumps to ensure that they can access water,” she said.
The water initiative forms part of wider work aimed at strengthening the education sector’s ability to withstand climate-related hazards.
Benn said the Department of Sustainable Development was continuing a second phase of work through its Green Climate Fund National Adaptation Plan readiness project.
The work will examine country-level evidence and child-sensitive indicators and build a climate investment case focused on psychosocial support for children.
Over the next two months, officials will also further develop a concept note which they hope to submit to the Green Climate Fund.
Benn said it would address “education in the face of natural hazards, psychosocial support for children, teachers, and counsellors within school”, as well as another component focused on water issues in schools.
She said the work was further supported by an education sector adaptation strategy and action plan developed to address the needs of children and young people within Saint Lucia’s education system.
“We have an entire framework that addresses some of the things that have been highlighted here,” Benn said.
Benn also noted previous work with UNICEF to involve young people in Saint Lucia’s climate response.
She said a youth climate change project funded by UNICEF from 2023 sought to ensure children and young people were represented in the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution process, with young people involved in designing what that participation would look like.
She highlighted youth climate activist Kezia St Brice’s involvement in the initiative, including being part of a team that visited schools and provided climate change education to more than 800 young people.
Benn said St Brice later participated in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
