A Year Later: Eshisuru Primary School

A year ago, generous donors helped construct a rainwater catchment tank for Eshisuru Primary School in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – and we’re excited to share this one from Christine Luvandwa with you.

Before our intervention, the pupils spent a lot of their time pumping water from a well that is used by most community members. There were long lines at the water point and conflicts were rampant. This has now changed because the pupils have plenty of their own water at the school to use.

"We have seen the pupils spend less time outside class in search of water," Deputy Headteacher Martin Chatimba said.

Martin Chatimba

"We believe this helped us a lot since last year. We had our grades improve by 20 marks at the national examination and we believe availability of water helped make this possible."

Many more improvements within the school are coming because the tank has given the school a face lift. The tank location is at a point where one can easily spot when entering the school compound. Once parents see a tank prominently featured in a school, they tend to take their children there. As a result, this school is likely to continue growing.

"We now have plenty of water for use in school," 12-year-old Derrick Ngala said.

Derrick Ngala

He also noted that students wash their hands each time they visit the toilet. The improved hygiene practices and access to water are leading to fewer cases of waterborne diseases.

"We also have reduced cases of absenteeism now that the children no longer drink dirty water and thus they do not get sick often," Mr. Chatimba said.

Installation of the tank is only one step along the journey toward sustainable access to clean water. The Water Project is committed to consistent monitoring of each water source. Our monitoring and evaluation program, made possible by donors like you, allows us to maintain our relationships with communities by visiting up to 4 times each year to ensure that the water points are safe and reliable.

This is just one of the many ways that we monitor projects and communicate with you. Additionally, you can always check the functionality status and our project map to see how all of our water points are performing, based on our consistent monitoring data.

One project is just a drop in the bucket towards ending the global water crisis, but the ripple effects of this project are truly astounding. This tank in Eshisuru Primary School is changing many lives.

Students line up to wash their hands

This is only possible because of the web of support and trust built between The Water Project, our local teams, the community, and you. We are excited to stay in touch with this community and support their journey with safe water.

Read more about The Water Promise and how you can help.