A Year Later: Saint Martha Mwitoti Secondary School

A year ago, your generous donation enabled us to construct a rainwater tank for St. Martha Mwitoti Secondary School in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow our local 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 local team member Olivia Bomji with you.

St. Martha's Mwitoti Secondary School is the best place to be! The students access clean and safe water for consumption within the school compound ever since the implementation of the project, which has enabled them to work on their studies rather than carry water from their homes. The school principal, the management, and students are very happy about the project and they have maintained the new facilities so well.

The school's sanitation and hygiene have improved too, because students use handwashing stations that were provided and the latrines constructed at the same time as the tank project. Having enough water in school has made the school environment very clean because the classrooms are regularly cleaned and the latrines too.

"The students used to wait in line for the toilet and it wasted a lot of time," Principal Chrispinus Owino said during a recent visit to the school. "Since the implementation of the project, things have changed positively."

Principal Chrispinus Owino

The water in school has been a source of joy to the support staff too, especially the cooks. They are able to prepare food on time for boarding students without facing any water shortages.

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.

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 St. Martha Mwitoti Secondary School is changing many lives.

"We are so happy because now we can access clean water here in school unlike before," 17-year-old student Kennedy Munyani said. "We no longer carry water from our homes for the day students, because we have water in school. Thank you so much for touching our lives!"

Field Officer Olivia Bomji with Kennedy Munyani

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.