A New Dawn in Khaunga Primary School
This section is by: Jacklyne Chelagat
Every water point implemented by The Water Project is always unique in its own way, and St. Peter’s Khaunga Primary School’s borehole well is no exception. The entire process of borehole drilling in this school gave me an opportunity to witness the general mood of the school pre- and post-drilling.
Despite being an officer in The Water Project, I am also a human being, and moreso, a mother with a human heart. Before the drilling, I was privileged to visit Khaunga Primary school and I was touched by what I witnessed.
Being a comprehensive school, it houses an Early Childhood Development section, a primary section, and a junior secondary school section. It was really disturbing to see children as young as five years old not only carrying water to school, but also having to go for several trips in search of water for school use. The pupils ended up struggling for water that was insufficient and also dirty.
On their walks to the spring and back to school, they used roads that were full of motorcycles, which posed a risk to them. They also wasted a lot of time in search of water. Pupils in this school might not have expressed their frustration and despair, but it was evident in their faces. Given an option, some of them would have opted to drop out of school rather than suffer for lack of water in their pursuit of education.
When they heard that a borehole was about to be drilled in their school, they were so excited about that day. When the rig finally landed in the school compound, it was welcomed by songs, dances, and celebrations. At that time, it was difficult to distinguish between a teacher and a pupil, since everyone was dancing in their own style. Their thirst and desire for water made the whole school compound noisy, with the whole Khaunga fraternity running all over the school compound.
The arrival of the rig marked the end of lessons that day. All eyes were glued on the proceedings around the rig.
Immediately as water splashed out, everybody was up on their toes celebrating the arrival of water.
The presence of water meant an end to yellow jerry cans in the morning. An end to those long trips to the spring. An end to stampedes and struggles in the spring. An end to drinking dirty and contaminated water. Instead, this began a new era of academic excellence, a clean learning environment, and high hygiene standards in school. All these could be seen in their faces and heard in their voices as they sang.
People who have plenty may not understand what it means to lack. Someone may not know the worth of something until it is gone. Water is one of the commodities that cannot be manufactured in industries. Khaunga Primary School gave me another opportunity to see and learn what it means to lack water and the feeling of finally getting it.
Whoever gave their donations to fund the project in Khaunga Primary School may not know how many lives they have touched. They may not know how many candles they have lit in people’s lives. Because of them, very many pupils will end up realizing their dreams and becoming better people in the future. This is a true investment that will save an entire generation.
I am humbled!
The Joy of Clean Water
The following section is by: Olivia Bomji
Water is life, and we all cannot survive without it. We all need water to drink, to cook, wash hands and water for other domestic needs. Without water, life is unbearable. That’s why we all need water, be it at home, school, place of work, church and health care facilities. Water defines human life so without it, people will struggle to find it and this will force them to direct all their energy looking for water instead of doing other things to better themselves.
Visiting Khaunga Primary School for the first time was a shock to me. A school with a population of over 1,200 pupils with no water is incomprehensible. The pupils and teachers were finding it difficult to be in school. As we all know, a school is a place where pupils get knowledge and skills and not a place to fetch water. The teachers were supposed to teach and not to escort pupils to fetch water. But at Khaunga primary school both the pupils and teachers are affected differently because they all waste time looking for water instead of being in school.
The struggle was real: for the pupils to wake up early in the morning to come to school, of carrying water and books; and of ensuring students work hard to fulfill their dreams of becoming things like teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers, and lawyers. I mean, the struggle on pupil’s faces was visible. Though they put on smiles, I could tell they were trying to be happy, but deep inside their hearts, they were sad because they were tired of fetching water every day.It is not easy to fetch water everyday but the pupils were hopeful that one day they will have water in school.
Walking together with the pupils to the unprotected spring to fetch water reminded me of years ago during my days in primary school. We carried water to school, too — every day, we faced the same water challenges as the pupils at Khaunga Primary School, even twenty years later. The hard journey made me sad for them, but at the same time I was hopeful that one day the storm would be over, and the school would have access to clean and safe water.
Carrying water to school every day was not easy, but that was their way of life. The school had no option but to ask its pupils to carry water from home every morning and during the day from the unprotected spring. The school needs water for it to be habitable, which is why the pupils had to carry water so often.
The general sanitation and hygiene at school is key and the teachers and pupils ensured that they did all they could to bring water at school despite the distance. Every Grade had a day set aside for them to carry water to school and this relieved other pupils that carried water the previous day. The pupils ensured that all the hand washing stations had water, the school kitchen had water and they also had some water to drink in their containers during the day at school.
I salute the teachers and parents of Khaunga Primary School because they ensured the safety of the pupils while going to fetch water by accompanying them on their long walks. After they would arrive at school, they would always take a roll call to be certain that all the pupils came back to school safe and sound. Although it was so hard for the teachers to control such a big number of pupils every day at the spring to fetch water, their coordination was great and all the pupils came back to school with water.
Before the installation of the borehole well, Head Teacher Mr. Benson Waboyabo expressed his hopes for his school’s future: “I have witnessed many projects done successfully by The Water Project, and I believe that the boys and girls of Khaunga Primary School will soon get access to clean and safe water. Our pupils have been suffering for so long, but I believe The Water Project will solve our problems soon.”
The head teacher’s trust in The Water Project was the only hope they had for the school to have clean and safe water.
Two months after we visited Khaunga Primary School, The Water Project came to the school to drill a borehole. It was all joy and celebration in the school and the community. The pupils and teachers could not hide their joy; they sang and danced, and I could feel how they were eagerly waiting for the water project.
The Water Project gave hope to and made dreams come true for the boys and girls of Khaunga Primary School. Access to clean water will make dreams come true for the boys and girls, and they will enjoy going to school every day. That is why we all need access to clean and safe water.
The teachers were not left behind in the celebration, and seeing them dancing, jumping, and singing with the pupils melted my heart. That was the most memorable part, which made me cry tears of joy. They spent three days watching the drilling process, and every drop of water that shot up during the drilling process made them happier and happier. What a journey! They say patience pays, although it sometimes delays. Khaunga Primary School had waited for so long to get water, but finally, it was a new dawn.
All thanks go to the donors and The Water Project, for making the invisible visible.
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