Giving Update: Rabuor Primary School

The initiation of the water, sanitation, and hygiene projects at Rabuor Primary School a little over a year ago has brought many changes to the school.

On a recent visit there, we saw how these projects and our training last year have aided in strengthening students' and staffs' drive to increase their uptake of health messages touching on sanitation and hygiene, and on other issues pertaining to the promotion of human and environmental health.

It is evident that the school is so concerned with the general welfare of its students and is committed to shaping each student to become a responsible citizen, including when it comes to their health. The school community seriously took in every detail covered during the training last year and are applying each practice to the letter. The school's compound and both students' and staff members' buildings are very tidy. According to staff and children, this level of cleanliness has definitely contributed to the prevention of diseases at Rabuor Primary School.

Field Officer Erick Wagaka with student Juliet Atieno

The school has done well to add more gutters to their rain tank which help in harvesting more water each time it rains. This shows their desire to help themselves and to harvest as much water as possible. Their compound is clean and all other buildings are neat. Awarding such a group with the project was clearly worth it. At no point within the year have they lacked water. The harvested water is used sparingly to help in cooking, drinking, and cleaning. Generally, the school is doing extremely well in terms of project management and maintenance.

Deputy Head Teacher Godfrey Ochieng shared with us how these projects have had a positive ripple effect beyond the school's compound.

"There is peace between school children and villagers since they no longer quarrel over water at the spring located outside the school the way they used to do before construction of the tank," he said.

"The project brought parents on board and they were able to contribute both [labor] and material resources. As a result, some of the parents have realized that the huge rocks found on their farms can be harnessed to support the economic needs of their families. Even parents who feared coming to the school are now free to come and check on the welfare of the school and the new projects. The new project outputs have also given Rabuor village and the school a good name to be admired."

Deputy Head TeacherGodfrey Ochieng with student

Beaming with joy and a wiseness beyond her years, 12-year-old student Juliet Atieno offered her personal take on the changes she has experienced at Rabur Primary since the WaSH projects were installed last year.

Juliet Atieno

"As students, our self-esteem has improved. The sense of being worthy and loved has helped us to concentrate on our books leading to remarkable academic performance. Besides, we have enough energy and stay awake for [the whole day] because we are no longer bothered by the tiring task of carrying water to school or worse still, breaking lessons and going out to fetch water. These are all in [the] history books of our school life."

Godfrey, Juliet, and Erick