Students are Healthy and Growing!

Last year, your gift unlocked the potential for a brighter future for Mr. Kinuthia. Since then, he and the Waasya Primary School, with 273 students and teachers, have had clean, reliable water. Your contribution has made a significant impact. Thank you for making a difference!

"Our learners can easily drink clean water from this implemented water point anytime they feel like drinking water. This waterpoint has been a huge plus in our school and we are very grateful for it," said teacher Simon Kinuthia.

Before the Rain Tank Installation

Like many teachers in Southeastern Kenya, Mr. Kinuthia, 50, is responsible for supervising students collecting water to meet the school's daily water needs. Before last year’s water intervention, this task stole his and his students' time and negatively affected them.

Students walking to collect water before the rain tank installation.

Drinking the water caused severe consequences. Many in the school suffered from waterborne diseases that created health problems, affecting their daily lives. Limited accessibility also meant people wasted time collecting sufficient water to meet their needs. The difficult journey to collect water sapped their physical and emotional energy, creating roadblocks. For Mr. Kinuthia, it lessened his opportunity to keep students fully engaged.

"Before this water point was set up, we experienced a lot of water scarcity in our school. The available plastic tanks could not harvest enough rainwater to sustain the school during the entire academic year, hence, learners were required to carry water from home, which led to lateness and absenteeism, especially when there was no water to carry from home. Learners would acquire water from unclean sources, mostly scoop holes from the seasonal river, which were contaminated, contributing to exposure to water-related infections," said Simon.

Since the Rain Tank Installation

Your generous gift last year was much more than a simple donation; it was a powerful statement about your commitment to this school’s future. By supporting the water solution, you made clean water an everyday reality, fostering hope for a brighter future.

Mr. Kinuthia next to the large rain tank.

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!"

"We are very grateful to have clean water in our school because cases of water-related infections have reduced, enabling our pupils to be in school every day and work towards their dreams. It only takes us a few minutes to fetch water here, which is much faster than before, when we would depend on the parents, who would be late due to the long distance and overcrowding at the water points," Mr. Kinuthia said.

The Future is Looking Bright!

A year ago, you made a difference for Waasya Primary 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 system hardware, monitor water availability, conduct sanitary inspections, and collect water-quality samples to identify risks. We work with our on-the-ground team to resolve them.

You gave Simon a crucial tool for achieving his dreams for himself and his students: access to clean water. Together, we can excitedly expect that with this precious resource, his enthusiasm and courage will help him as a teacher.

"I am very happy about this tank because our learners no longer need to carry water from home, enabling [them] to concentrate on their daily lessons. The implemented project also provides clean water, which has reduced instances of water-related maladies among the young learners, enabling them to come to school every day and get better grades. We are now cooking for learners and have grown various trees in the school, including fruit trees for both learning and subsistence purposes. We are also building a kitchen and have revamped a classroom for the younger pupils," Mr. Kinuthia celebrated.

Mr. Kinuthia and the students water trees at the school.