Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 465 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - May 2023

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 01/22/2024

Project Features


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Daisy Special School, a school for handicapped students, has 437 students and 28 teachers that face each day without sufficient water.

Currently, the school depends on the water they can collect from a stand pipe in the community, but the water is unreliable. The tap only provides water two days a week, four hours each day, and is shared with the community. There is never enough to meet the needs of the school, especially with the extra challenges presented.

Since the school is a residential school for handicapped students, they need running water all of the time. Without it, they cannot maintain students' personal hygiene or the general hygiene around the school.

"As a teacher, a lack of water is as good as closing the school. This is because we have children with special needs, and when there is no water, it means they are being exposed to sicknesses. I am affected psychologically because when I see them suffering because of lack of water, it's hard to keep them in school," said head teacher James Okoko, standing near the tap below.

There are also rainwater collection tanks on the school campus, but they don't hold enough water, and during the dry season, they sit empty and useless.

Some of the school's students are incontinent, so they need to be bathed anytime they are changed and have their bedding washed and changed daily, but without water, it is impossible. Students suffer as a result, and it makes the learning environment for other students uncomfortable.

"Lack of water in school affects us a lot because when the toilets are not washed, we cannot use them. When the hostels and the bedding are dirty, we cannot sleep. When those using diapers don't get a good shower, we can't stay in class. This affects us because we cannot learn unless there is water flowing all the time," said 12-year-old student Shaleen A. (shown below).

The burden of collecting sufficient water needed for drinking and cooking, bathing, flushing toilets, cleaning, and washing clothing and bedding falls on the students not in wheelchairs. It is a heavy burden, and they often find themselves waiting in long lines that keep them out of class.

Everyone deserves dignity and access to clean water. With a borehole on the school campus,  water can be available throughout the year, which will enable the teachers and school administration to take excellent care of the children in their care, especially those struggling to stay clean. Accessible water will also allow all of the students to get back to learning.

What We Can Do:

New Well

We conducted a hydrogeological survey at this school and the results indicated the water table beneath it is an ideal candidate for a borehole well. Due to a borehole well's unique ability to tap into a safe, year-round water column, it will be poised to serve all of the water needs for this school's large population, even through the dry months.

The school will help collect the needed construction materials such as sand, rocks, and water for mixing cement. They will also provide housing and meals for the work team, in addition to providing local laborers. We will complement their materials by providing an expert team of artisans and drilling professionals, tools, hardware, and the hand-pump. Once finished, water from the well will then be used by the school’s students and staff for drinking, handwashing, cooking, cleaning, and much more.

Handwashing Stations

The student health club will oversee the two new handwashing stations we will provide, and make sure they are kept clean and in working condition. The club leaders will fill the handwashing stations with water daily and make sure they are always supplied with a cleaning agent such as soap or ash.

VIP Latrines

We will construct two triple-door latrine blocks using local materials that the school will help gather. Three doors will serve the girls and three doors will serve the boys. All of these new latrines will have cement floors that are designed to be easy to use and to clean. And with a borehole right on school property, there should be enough water to keep them clean.

Training on Health, Hygiene, COVID-19, and More

We will hold a one-day intensive training session with students, teachers, and parents. This training will cover a wide range of topics including COVID-19 symptoms, transmission routes, and prevention; personal and environmental hygiene; and the operation and maintenance of the borehole, latrines, and handwashing stations. There will be a special emphasis on handwashing.

Our team of facilitators will use a variety of methods to train, including participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation, and asset-based community development. We will initiate a student health club, which will prepare students to lead other pupils into healthy habits at school and at home. We will also lead lectures, group discussions, and provide illustrative handouts to teach health topics and ways to promote good hygiene practices within the school including handwashing and water treatment. We will then conduct a series of follow-up trainings before transitioning to our regularly scheduled support visits throughout the year.

We and the school strongly believe that all of these components will work together to improve standards at this school, which will help lead to better student academic performance and will help unlock the opportunity for these students to live better, healthier lives.

Project Updates


May, 2023: Daisy Special School New Well Complete!

We are excited to share that Daisy Special School in Kenya now has access to a new, safe water source thanks to the completion of their borehole well! Students and staff are already using the well’s flowing water, which will provide them with a reliable water source for all of their daily needs.

We also installed new latrines and handwashing stations and trained students and staff on improved sanitation and hygiene practices. Together, these components will unlock the opportunity for these students to live better, healthier lives.

"I will not be struggling at the water points because we have been told that the water is enough for all of us. It will help me bathe more often and be clean," said 14-year-old Esther N.

Esther using the new pump.

Teachers were just as excited as the students about the new well on campus.

"I believe that the facility will go a long way in helping us improve our daily activities in the school, from [ones] as small as cleaning to [ones] as big as improving the education system of the school," said 35-year-old teacher Sharon Imbala.

Sharon.

"We are looking to better the living experience of the students in the school, and with the waterpoint here, I believe we can start out with the general cleanliness. It might be a big task, but I know we can be better," concluded Sharon.

How We Got the Water Flowing

Parents, staff, and students all contributed to this well’s success. After determining the best site for the well through a hydrogeological survey, we obtained approval and a license from the government to begin drilling.

To prepare, the school collected fine sand and water for cement-making. When everything was ready, our drill team and staff arrived at the school to begin work.


Drilling commenced with excitement in the air. The team drove down a temporary casing to keep the walls from collapsing as the rig progressed. We continued drilling to reach a final depth of 100 meters with a final static water level of 60 meters.

The drilling process can take up to three consecutive days to complete due to this region’s hard bedrock, so the drill team set up a camp where they could rest and refuel. The school’s kitchen staff and parents helped provide meals for the team, while the school provided a safe place for the artisans’ accommodations and materials.

Once we reached the required depth, the team replaced the temporary casing with a permanent version, then bailed out the dirty water at the bottom of the well. The workers installed pipes, flushed them, tested the well’s yield, and chlorinated the water.

After water treatment, we constructed a cement well pad to seal off the well from any ground-level contaminants. Tiles are installed beneath the spout to protect the cement from the erosive force of the water.

We also included a short drainage channel to carry spilled water away from the pump and prevent standing water. A soak pit absorbs runoff at the end of the drainage channel, further eliminating any stagnant water.

When the well pad was dry, we installed a new stainless steel AfriDev handpump and sampled the water for a quality test. The results showed this water was safe for drinking!

We officially handed over the new borehole to the school’s students and teachers.

"Upon [the] completion of the project, the facilitator in charge invited the teachers and the CTC students to the borehole site, reminded them of the practices to uphold to maintain the facility, held a short session of prayer, [and] then handed over the facility to the school," said our field officer Betty Muhongo.

The event was an excellent chance to acknowledge the school administration and students as the primary parties entrusted with the tools we have given and remind them of our continued support as they develop. Happiness, thanksgiving, and appreciation were the order of the day, flowing in all directions.

VIP Latrines

This project funded the installation of six new ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines. These new latrines have cement floors designed to be easy to use and clean, locking doors for safety and privacy, and vents to keep air flowing up and out through the roof. With a well right on school property, there should be enough water to keep them clean.

Handwashing Stations

We set up two handwashing stations outside the latrines and handed them over to the newly formed student health club. Health club members will teach other students how to wash their hands at the stations properly, fill the stations with water, and ensure that there is always a cleaning agent available.

New Knowledge

We scheduled hygiene and sanitation training with the school’s staff, who ensured that the training date would be convenient for pupils and teachers. When the training day arrived, facilitators Betty and Stella deployed to the site to lead the event. 38 students and teachers attended the training, which we held in a large meeting room at the school.

We focused on personal, menstrual, oral, and environmental hygiene; proper water handling; soap-making and the ten steps of handwashing; the importance of primary health care, the prevention of teen pregnancy and COVID-19; child rights; the operation and maintenance of the pump, well, latrines, and handwashing stations; and leadership and governance. During the latter, the students elected their peers to lead their newly formed student health club.

Students elected their peers to lead their student health club during the leadership session. Members will encourage good health and hygiene practices amongst their peers, teachers, and the larger community. By the end of the training, each pupil understood their role in sustaining clean water and good health within their school community.

Making soap.

"Hygiene and sanitation practices were one of our most memorable topics. This is because the students did not leave out any details in mentioning the challenges that made them fail to uphold better practices. To them, anything could, and everything was a barrier. It was a touching moment [when] we felt a light heart when one of the students said that having the borehole will ease their problems and help them better their hygiene," said Betty.

Humphrey collecting water.

"I learned that it is important to keep your environment as clean as you keep yourself so that you can keep away outbreaks of diseases. That way, we do not get sick all the time. Also, it is important to use soap when cleaning our hands," said 16-year-old Humphrey K.

Conclusion

This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members. When an issue arises concerning the well, the students and teachers are equipped with the necessary skills to rectify the problem and ensure the water point works appropriately. However, if the issue is beyond their capabilities, they can contact their local field officers to assist them.

Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. We walk with each community, problem-solving together when they face challenges with functionality, seasonality, or water quality. Together, all these components help us strive for enduring access to reliable, clean, and safe water for this community.

With your contribution, one more piece has been added to a large puzzle of water projects. In our target areas, we’re working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. With this in mind, search through our upcoming projects to see which community you can help next!

Thank you for making all of this possible!




March, 2023: Daisy Special School Well Underway!

A severe clean water shortage at Daisy Special School drains students’ time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this community/school through the introduction and pictures we’ve posted, and read about this water, sanitation, and hygiene project. We look forward to reaching out with more good news!




Project Photos


Project Type

Abundant water is often right under our feet! Beneath the Earth’s surface, rivers called aquifers flow through layers of sediment and rock, providing a constant supply of safe water. For borehole wells, we drill deep into the earth, allowing us to access this water which is naturally filtered and protected from sources of contamination at the surface level. First, we decide where to drill by surveying the area and determining where aquifers are likely to sit. To reach the underground water, our drill rigs plunge through meters (sometimes even hundreds of meters!) of soil, silt, rock, and more. Once the drill finds water, we build a well platform and attach a hand pump. If all goes as planned, the community is left with a safe, closed water source providing around five gallons of water per minute! Learn more here!


Contributors

Project Sponsor - Hey Dewy