Your gift unlocked Elizabeth's potential for a brighter future. Since last year, she and the Mukhonje Mixed Secondary School, which has 254 students and 17 staff, have had clean, reliable water. Your contribution has made a significant impact. Thank you for making a difference!
"Water brings happiness amongst people and the surroundings. It also brings good health," said Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Wanjala, a 37-year-old teacher at Mukhonje, oversaw her students when they collected water to meet the school's daily water needs before last year's water intervention. This task stole her and her students' time.
The student's previous water source.
Students wasted time collecting water, and teachers did as well since they had to supervise the trips for water. The difficult journey to collect water sapped everyone's physical and emotional energy, creating roadblocks. For Elizabeth, in particular, it stole her time to teach her students.
"Collecting water was a problem. I could spend much time supervising students to fetch water, when we had [a] large overcrowding of community members at the water point. This created long queues of people waiting to collect water, and at some point, people could quarrel at the water point, inciting fears among the students," said Elizabeth.
Your generous gift last year was much more than a simple donation; it was a powerful statement about your commitment to this school and the student's future. By supporting the water solution, you made clean water an everyday reality, fostering hope for a brighter future.
Elizabeth and her students.
Reliable and clean water lays the groundwork for improved health, education, and economic possibilities, allowing people to thrive. We frequently hear from those we interview that "water is life!"
"Collecting water here has made my work to be so [much] easier as a teacher. Students can clean classes and latrines with minimal supervision. Water is also enough for our daily activities, and we can achieve our set hygiene standards with no challenge. Fetching water here is also clean and safe for drinking," continued Elizabeth.
"Water has really brought new changes. Our students are no longer going out to fetch water, and this has really improved our hygiene standards, which will normally [be] conducted on [a] daily basis."
A year ago, you made a difference for Elizabeth and the rest of the school. This is just the first chapter of their story as access to clean water continues to improve their lives!
At The Water Project, we value sustainability and want to ensure that people continue to thrive. We commit to monitoring this project to ensure the water is always flowing and safe to consume. We inspect the system hardware, track water availability, conduct sanitary inspections, and collect water quality samples to identify risks. We work with our team on the ground to resolve them.
You gave Elizabeth a crucial tool for achieving her job: access to clean water.
"[I] am a strong person with good health. I have no health complications which I used to have. Access [to] clean, safe water has really enabled me to meet syllabus coverage on time. [The] teaching program is being conducted smoothly without anyone missing lessons due to [a] lack of water. The school has established a garden which is carried out by agricultural students, and the water source helps us most in irrigation purposes, especially during [the] dry season. [We] also wash vegetables before taking to the market or preparing our meals," concluded Elizabeth.
Elizabeth watering the school garden.