October, 2024: Kakunga Girls High School Well Complete!

Your contribution has given access to clean water for the Kakunga Girls High School in Kenya, thanks to the completion of their borehole well! Clean, flowing water is already making a difference in the lives of the students and staff. This will provide them with a reliable water source for their daily needs.

We installed new latrines and handwashing stations and then trained students and staff on improved sanitation and hygiene practices. Together, these components will allow these students to thrive!

"We have struggled to get water for cleaning our classrooms, washing and bathing. [The] availability of water on campus will help us improve hygiene and sanitation. This water will go along way to help our chefs to prepare food on time. Other things this water point will help us with is provide water for cleaning classrooms and offices," 13-year-old Damaris shared.

Damaris.

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

Teacher Gladys Kokonya shared, "The waterpoint will enable our children [to] reduce [the] time they used to spend going to look for water and redirect it to studies. Availability of water in the school compound will enhance our good health, food will be prepared on time, and girls [will] have sufficient water for both personal hygiene and sanitation. This is going to make student's life easier and have [a] conducive environment to study well and work towards pursuing their dreams."

Teacher Gladys Kokonya

"Let me share with you something you might not know you are doing. [You are] touching lives. Drilling water [for] lower financed schools and marginalized communities is a great initiative. Investing millions to ensure they have access to clean water has humbled us. You just don't have an idea how much love, peace, and happiness you are spreading in this world. This is enough motivation that I have to instill in our children to work hard," she expressed.

How We Got the Water Flowing

The first step was to conduct a hydrogeological survey to determine the the best site for the school's well. Once we found the perfect spot, the team obtained approval from the government to begin drilling.

Parents, staff, and students all contributed to this well’s success, right from the start. To prepare for the well, 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 begins!

Drilling started with excitement in the air. We continued drilling to reach a final depth of 78 meters with a final static water level of 13 meters.

The drilling process can take up to three consecutive days to complete due to this region’s hard bedrock, so the 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 optimum depth, the team inserted permanent casing, 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.

Flushing the well.

We constructed a cement well pad to seal it off from any ground-level contaminants. Tiles were installed beneath the spout to protect the cement from the erosive force of the water. We included a short drainage channel and a soak pit to prevent standing water.

When the well pad was cured, we installed a new stainless steel hand pump and sampled the water for a quality test. The results showed this water was safe for drinking!
We officially gave ownership of the new borehole to the school’s students and teachers.

Students and staff celebrated the presence of clean water on campus. The event was an excellent chance to acknowledge the school administration and students, and remind them of our continued support. Happiness, thanksgiving, and appreciation were the order of the day, flowing in all directions.

VIP Latrines

Excited students at their new latrine.

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. They have locking doors for safety and privacy, as well as vents to keep air flowing out through the roof. With a well right on school property, there should be enough water to keep them clean.

Handwashing Stations

Handwash training.

We also also set up two handwashing stations outside the latrines. Student 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 soap available.

School Education

We scheduled hygiene and sanitation training with the school’s staff. When the training day arrived, facilitators Daisy Khatunyi, Purity Wamboi, Carol Buradi, Evans Waswa, and Amos Emisiko deployed to the site to lead the event. 21 students and teachers attended the training.

Safe water handling training.

We emphasized personal, menstrual, oral, and environmental hygiene. Proper water handling, soap-making, the ten steps of handwashing, and the importance of primary health care were discussed. We covered disease prevention, teen pregnancy, and child rights. Waterpoint, latrine, and handwashing station operation and maintenance, as well as leadership and governance, were discussed. By the end of the training, each pupil understood their role in sustaining clean water and good health within their school community.

The students elected peers to lead their newly formed student health club. The student health club members will encourage good health and hygiene practices amongst their peers, teachers, and the larger community.

"Soapmaking activity was the best training topic for students. They actively participated and involved themselves in the activity. Girls asked a lot of questions regarding how they could get the chemicals and their prices. They made fun and compared making soap with preparing porridge. The participants brought suggestions on how they can use soap-making skills to raise money through selling it," shared Field Officer Daisy Khatunyi.

Learning how to make soap.

17-year-old Mary said, "Hygiene and sanitation practices were the best topics for me. I loved how the trainer used various chats to demonstrate how we pollute water from the sources to the final destination. Simple behaviors that we can avoid end up costing us. Behaviors like [the] lack of proper disposal of wastes, washing motorbikes in passing streams, poor cultivation of farms, and illegal harvesting of sand make people who depend on rivers downstream pay the price. The trainer used simple illustrations and made fun out of it."

Mary.

"I found myself laughing or smiling, especially when he said we could own latrines in our home by using banana leaves to construct the walls; he went further to insist when approaching such latrines, they always make the necessary noise to avoid accidentally embarrassing someone inside. The trainer allowed us to express ourselves in all languages we understand to drive the point home. His mastery of mixing Luhya, Kiswahili, and English languages was amazing and brought the message with a lot of clarity," Mary concluded.

Thank you for making all of this possible!

August, 2024: Kakunga Girls High School Well Underway!

The lack of adequate water at the Kakunga Girls Hight School costs the students and staff time, energy, and health every single day. Clean water scarcity contributes to community instability and diminishes individuals’ personal progress.

But thanks to your recent generosity, things will soon improve here. We are now working to install a reliable water point and improve hygiene standards. We look forward to sharing inspiring news in the near future!