A Year Later: Lwangele Primary School

October, 2018

Parents are spending less money on hospitals and medicines thanks to the tank, latrines, and handwashing stations installed last year.

A Year Later: Lwangele Primary School


A year ago, generous donors helped construct a rainwater catchment tank for Lwangele 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 Lillian Achieng with you.


The project has brought cohesion between the community and the government since the local constituency stepped in with development funding to help acquire the local sand and stones needed during the construction of the tank and latrines.

"The facilities have given our school a facelift since it's a new school that still needs more infrastructure," senior teacher Karen Simasi said.

The change was also noted by 12-year-old student Lee Lwingwa.

Lee Lwingwa

"Our school also looks beautiful with the presence of this facilities," he said. "Our clean VIP latrines have helped us a lot since we don't have to wait to access one."

Lee and his fellow students have taken to the practice of handwashing, thanks to the provision of handwashing stations alongside their new latrines.

"By washing our hands with soap we have been able to reduce diseases caused by dirty hands," he added.

"We are also able to wash our classes, plates, toilets using this water. I personally have been able to concentrate in class without having to step out to fetch water for use in school. "

Construction 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.

A jerrycan being filled during our most recent monitoring survey.

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 Lwangele Primary School is changing many lives.

The parents of the pupils at this school have been able to save on the cost of taking their children to hospitals thanks to the reduction of waterborne diseases.

"The clean water has helped reduce coughing among the pupils. This was very common due to the water they used to drink that came from unknown different sources," Ms. Simasi said.

Karen Simasi

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.



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