UNICEF started a CLTS initiative in Guatemala in mid July 2016 and has partnered with Helvetas for this initial stage.  The aim is to achieve 120 ODF communities in one year, by the end of July 2017.  The project started with UNICEF visiting relevant government partners and INGOs to present CLTS and obtain some buy-in, and by doing a rapid assessment of the national and local WASH situation to understand how to position the initiative.  It was decided to go directly to municipal level (Guatemala has 340 municipalities), since sanitation is the municipality’s direct responsibility.

The first workshop took place in the municipality of Tajumulco in late August and was attended by about 30 people, including facilitators to be trained, local government authorities at municipal and department levels and two representatives of 6 INGOs. The project retained 4 facilitators and triggered 7 communities initially. Six weeks later, 16 communities had been triggered and were being followed.  A second workshop was organized in another municipality, San Miguel Ixtahuacan, and 5 new facilitators were trained.  The workshop also included local authorities and 2 INGOs.  10 new communities were triggered, and the municipal certifying committee was also trained.

To date, about 4 communities are advancing well and will probably be ODF by early December, and 27 are triggered and advancing well.

As part of the initiative, UNICEF also translated to Spanish and adapted to the local context Frontiers issue 2 on triggering hand washing. This translation has been already used at community level and during the workshops.