August, 2019: Giving Update: Malimili Secondary School

A year ago, your generous donation helped Malimili Secondary School in Kenya access clean water.

There’s an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water at Malimili Secondary School. Month after month, their giving supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Malimili Secondary School maintain access to safe, reliable water. Read more…

May, 2018: Malimili Secondary School Project Complete

Malimili Secondary School in Kenya now has a new source of safe, clean water thanks to your generous donation. A new rainwater catchment system was been built, and there are now six new latrines in use. Two hand-washing stations were installed, and students received training in sanitation and hygiene.

New Knowledge

We worked directly with Principal Andole Kizito to arrange hygiene and sanitation training. He recruited participants from grades one to three, teachers, and parent representatives. We often hold training outside to allow room for demonstrations, but students were relieved that we chose to meet in a classroom. It was a relatively cold day!

We taught that hygiene entails personal hygiene, water and food hygiene, and environmental hygiene. Attention needs to be given to each facet of hygiene to enjoy a healthy life.

We covered topics including but not limited to:

– Water pollution and water treatment

– Health starts with a clean self and clean environment

– Group dynamics, leadership, and governance

– Forming an effective CTC (child to child) club

– Hand-washing

Demonstrations were used for hand-washing, tooth-brushing, and many other topics. We facilitated group discussions and presentations, and students took part in role-plays. The students also received handouts to help them teach hygiene and sanitation to their peers.

Students were particularly excited to learn about hand-washing, and that there are ten steps to get rid of germs this way. They admitted they never knew that hand-washing should be this thorough, and realized a lot of their illnesses could have been avoided with good washing.

The CTC club includes both students and teachers who want to take responsibility for spreading the message of good health and hygiene among their peers. They are also responsible for managing hand-washing stations, cleaning latrines, and keeping the school environment tidy. A water user committee was formed by parents and school administration, which is responsible for overseeing and maintaining the new facilities.

Teacher Allan Amuchisi said, "As a school, we have never had a forum like this, which aims to ensure the health of our students. My students have really suffered due to lack of proper information on water and sanitation. However, the information received is going to play a great role in ensuring that the students' health improves and the sustainability of all installed facilities."

Training participants posing for a group picture.

VIP Latrines

This project funded the installation of six new ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines. All of these latrines are easy to use and clean. And with a rainwater catchment tank, there should be enough water to keep them clean all the time.

Students giving us thumbs up for their new latrines.

Hand-Washing Stations

The two hand-washing stations were delivered to school and handed over to the CTC club. These were placed outside of the boys’ and girls’ latrines to encourage hand-washing after latrine use. CTC club members teach other students how to properly wash their hands at the stations, and make sure there is always soap or ash available. Now the school has the stations they need, and they have the water to fill them.

Rainwater Catchment Tank

Construction for this 50,000-liter rainwater catchment tank was successful!

Parents, staff, and students helped our artisans gather everything needed for construction. All the while, women cooked meals for the artisans, and the school provided accommodations for the artisans during their work. Local men and women helped our artisans with their manual labor, too.

The construction process officially began with our staff and school administration looking around the school compound to try and determine the best location for a new rainwater catchment tank. This needed to be the best site with good, clean roofing to catch the rainwater.

We had to clear the site, excavating the soil within the required measurements to make level ground for the tank foundation. The foundation was cast by laying hardcore on a level ground and then reinforcing it using steel, concrete and waterproof cement.

Both the drawing pipe as well as the washout pipe were affixed as the foundation was lain. The wall was built with ferro-cement techniques through six layers. The inner wall was plastered while rough casting was done on the outer part. Finally, the catchment area was dug, plastered, and a staircase installed.

We could start on the dome after the superstructure had been given enough time to settle. The manhole cover was fitted, inlet pipes were connected to the roof gutters, inlet screens, ventilation pipes (breathers) and overflow pipes were all done to standards.

Once finished, the tank was given three to four weeks to undergo complete curing before it was cleaned and handed over to Malimili Secondary School. This tank now has the ability to capture and store 75,000 liters of water, which will be treated with rock alum and chlorine after it receives fresh rain.

We used to construct tanks with a capacity of just 30,000 liters. As we noticed that student enrollment increases as clean water arrives on school grounds, we upped the capacity of tanks to 50,000 liters. St. Joseph Malimili Secondary school is the first institution to be privileged with a 75,000-liter tank. Being the first tank with this large capacity, everybody anxiously waited to see how the tank would turn out. Everyone made frequent visits. It was a joy to be the first field officer to oversee the construction of this. Initially it looked challenging, but with a lot of consultations with the director, project coordinator, fellow colleagues and the artisans, the entire process became much simpler.

St. Joseph Malimili Secondary school is one of the most populated schools in Malimili area. With a gross population of 518 people, it was indeed a wise idea to implement the construction of the 75,000 liters tank in the school. It will help the institution along way in the realization of their academic goals and in the implementation of the Kenya educational curriculum." One child if not all, will achieve his goal in life and realize his professional dream courtesy of this project."

There were smiles all around as students and staff witnessed water coming from the tap for the first time. Teacher Samuel Owichi spoke on behalf of all, saying "I am so grateful for the great work done in our school. I personally lack the words to express my gratitude. The project will not only play a significant role in improving the academic performance here, but it will also go a long way in increasing student enrollment. Parents want to send their children to schools with a sufficient supply of clean and safe water for drinking."

January, 2018: Malimili Secondary School Project Underway

Malimili Secondary School will soon have a source of water on school grounds thanks to your donation! A rainwater catchment tank and new latrines are being constructed, hand-washing stations provided, and the school is being trained on proper sanitation and hygiene practices. Imagine the impact this will have on these students! For now, check out the report with narrative, pictures, and maps to learn more about this project. Thank you for noticing the need here, and we’ll keep you posted as the work continues.