Health — Hygiene & Well Sanitation

Hygiene and clean water are the foundation of disease prevention in rural Niger. Many waterborne diseases — diarrhea, guinea worm, cholera — can be prevented through simple practices like handwashing, covering water containers, and building well aprons. This unit covers hygiene vocabulary, key health messages in Zarma, and a dialogue about well sanitation.

Vocabulary

Zarma	English
hananyan	cleanliness
hari hanno	clean water
dabirji	a cover
jante/zanay/bani janay	disease
hamney/hamniyan	flies
soboro	mosquito
salanga	latrine
safun	soap
nyum	to wash
habu	to sweep
fisi	sweepings
zibi	dirt
fobu/kusu	water pot

Hygiene Messages

Zarma	English
Nda ni koy kwara banda/salanga a hima ni ma ni kamba nyum nda hari nda safun.	After going to the bathroom, wash your hands with soap and water.
Nda ni ga ba ga nwari hina, a hima ni ma tasey nda kusey nyum a ma bori.	If preparing food, wash plates and bowls well.
A hima nda ni ma ni batama habu watikulu, koyne i ma fiso ton gusu ra.	Always sweep and burn rubbish in a hole.
Ni ma ni fobu dabirji. Hamney si hin ka furo hari ra.	Cover your water pot. Flies can’t get into the water.
Ni ma hari hanno hinne hamu. Ni ma si hamu bongu hari.	Only drink clean water. Don’t drink pond water.
Zankey ma kamba nyum nwari sanni.	Children should wash hands before eating.
Salanga ga halassi borey jantey ga.	Latrines protect people from disease.

Key Hygiene Practices

1. Handwashing (kamba nyumyan) — Wash hands with soap after using the latrine and before preparing or eating food.
2. Covering water (hari dabirjiyan) — Always keep a cover on water pots and containers to keep out flies and dust.
3. Sweeping (habuyan) — Sweep the compound daily and burn or bury rubbish in a pit.
4. Latrine use (salanga) — Use latrines instead of open defecation to prevent contamination of water sources.
5. Clean dishes (tasey nyumyan) — Wash all cooking and eating utensils with soap and clean water.

The Well Apron

A well apron is a concrete or packed-earth platform built around the mouth of a well to prevent dirty water from flowing back into the well. Without an apron, water spilled during collection seeps back into the well, carrying bacteria, animal waste, and dirt with it.

Benefits of a Well Apron

• Prevents surface water contamination
• Provides a clean area for filling containers
• Directs spilled water away from the well
• Reduces mud and standing water where mosquitoes breed

Sample Dialogue — At the Well

Nafissa, a volunteer, is talking to a group of women at the village well about building a well apron.

Speaker	Zarma	English
Nafissa	Fofo, ay weyborey! Ay ga ba ay ma salaŋ aran se hari bonkaano ciine ga.	Hello, women! I want to talk to you about the area around the well.
Woman 1	Ifo go ga te hari bonkaano ra?	What’s wrong with the well area?
Nafissa	Aran go ga di — hari ga kaŋ laabu ga bonkaano maanu. Zibi go no. Haw nda feeji ga hamu noodin.	You can see — water falls on the ground near the well. There’s dirt. Cattle and sheep drink there.
Woman 2	Wati kulu ga te yaadin.	It’s always like that.
Nafissa	Haalli. Amma hari zibi wo ga kaŋ bonkaano ra. A ga koy hari ra koyne. Aran zankey ga jantey du noodin.	True. But that dirty water falls near the well. It goes back into the water. Your children get diseases from it.
Woman 1	Ifo no iri ga hin ka te?	What can we do?
Nafissa	Iri ga hin ka cinna bonkaano fondo — laabu gaabu kan ga halassi bonkaano. Hari ga bisa ka koy koyne a si ye bonkaano ra.	We can build a well apron — hard ground that protects the well. Water flows away and doesn’t go back into the well.
Woman 2	A ga cinna nda ifo?	What do you build it with?
Nafissa	Iri ga hin ka te a nda tongo nda botogo nda hari. Wala nda ciment nda sable.	We can make it with rocks, mud, and water. Or with cement and sand.
Woman 1	Iri gonda tongo nda botogo.	We have rocks and mud.
Nafissa	Boori! Iri ma cinna a bambata — fondo ga koy koyne ga bisa hari zibi ma koy saaji ga.	Good! We build it big — sloping away so dirty water goes to the bush.
Woman 2	Nda haw nda feeji?	And the cattle and sheep?
Nafissa	Iri ga hin ka te almaney hari fondo fo — koyne, almaney si hamu bonkaano hari ra.	We can make a separate animal watering area — that way, animals won’t drink at the well.
Woman 1	Boori dabari no. Iri ga sintin watifo?	That’s a good idea. When do we start?
Nafissa	Iri ma salaŋ nda alborey da mai-gari. Nda i na soo, iri ga sintin.	Let’s talk with the men and the chief. If they agree, we start.
Woman 2	Iri zankey jantey se, iri ga te a.	For our children’s health, we’ll do it.

Compound Hygiene Checklist

Use these questions to assess hygiene during compound visits:

Zarma	English
Safun go no?	Is there soap?
Salanga go no?	Is there a latrine?
Fobu gonda dabirji?	Does the water pot have a cover?
Batama hannante no?	Is the compound clean?
I ga fiso ton gusu ra?	Do they burn rubbish in a pit?
Zankey ga kamba nyum nwari sanni?	Do the children wash hands before eating?