A Year Later: Virembe Primary School

A year ago, your generous donation enabled us to construct a rainwater catchment tank for Virembe Primary 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 Olivia Bomji with you.

The school population has increased since the facilities were constructed last year. Many parents now transfer their children to Virembe Primary School so that their children can access clean water and improved sanitation facilities.

"The availability of water in the school has enabled children to concentrate in their studies as opposed to traveling more than two kilometers away from school looking for water - something that really disrupted their learning," Principal Silvester Madegwa said.

Silvester Madegwa

The school sanitation and hygiene situation has really improved. The classrooms are cleaned every evening and the school compound is cleaned every morning, all led by the Virembe Primary School's student hygiene and sanitation club.

"The VIP latrines have really helped the students because they used to share the toilets with the church. The construction of the toilets is a great relief to the school, especially the children," Principal Madegwa continued.

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 Virembe Primary School is changing many lives.

"The Water Project has helped us a lot because we used to go far to fetch water and it really disrupted our studies because we wasted a lot of time instead of learning," 13-year-old student Silvia Khavere said.

Silvia Khavere

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.