Project Status



Project Type:  Rainwater Catchment

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 320 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - May 2018

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 02/02/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

Students attending George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School arrive at 6am for their morning revisions. Some of them report to school on empty stomachs, waiting for tea break which is served at 10am. The black tea they drink can take a small edge off their hunger. At lunch time, everyone rushes to the dining hall to soothe their hunger pangs with a mixture of beans and maize. Students leave at 6pm after cleaning their classrooms. Some of them have to walk a long distance to get back home.

Talking to some of the girls here, we found out that they really wish their school would offer a boarding option. They say that if they could stay the school, they'd have enough time to study.

Water Situation

The school and the community worked together to get a 10,000-liter plastic tank installed on school grounds. The plan was that water would be pumped up from a borehole or spring, and the county government would sponsor the equipment needed. Unfortunately, the funds did not come through. School administration told us that they'll bring the plastic tank down from its stand to use as supplementary water storage.

The school recently dug a well on school grounds. They've tied a bucket to rope used to fetch the water inside.

There's no water in this well during the driest months of the year. At this time, students need to take their containers out into the surrounding community to find water. Students and staff get sick during these times of water scarcity, as they can't ascertain the quality of water that students retrieve. Stomachaches and diarrhea keep students away from school - and if they have the money to get to a health clinic, they'll often find out they're suffering from typhoid.

Sanitation Situation

There are a few blocks of pit latrines, but most of them are old and almost full. There are no hand-washing stations available for students to clean up after using the latrine or before taking tea and lunch.

Despite a lack of water here, students are doing their best to keep their area clean. Classrooms are swept on a daily basis and the latrines are surprisingly clean.

Headmistress Getrude Musumba said, "Our students are exposed to waterborne diseases, diarrhea and stomachache. This is attributed to the water crisis in school and the lack of hand-washing facilities. Most of them do not understand the necessity of washing their hands after visiting the toilets."

Here’s what we plan to do about it.

You make this possible. Thank You for joining us in providing clean water, sanitation facilities, and important health information for these students and teachers.

Hygiene and Sanitation Training and Hand-Washing Stations

Training will be held for two days. The facilitator will use PHAST (participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation), ABCD (asset-based community development), CTC (child to child), lectures, group discussions, and handouts to teach health topics and ways to promote good practices within the school.

The CTC method will prepare students to lead other students into healthy habits, as well as kickstart a CTC club for the school. This CTC club will oversee the new facilities, such as hand-washing stations, and make sure they are kept clean and in working condition. The two hand-washing stations will be delivered to the school, and the club will fill them with water on a daily basis and make sure there is always a cleaning agent such as soap or ash.

VIP Latrines

Two triple-door latrines will be constructed by our artisans and community volunteers. Three doors will serve the girls while the other three serve the boys. And with a new source of water on school grounds, students and staff should have enough to keep these new latrines clean.

Rainwater Catchment Tank

A 50,000-liter rainwater catchment tank will alleviate the water crisis at this school. The school will help gather the needed materials such as sand, rocks, and water for our artisan to mix cement. Since the students and staff are so involved in the entire process, we know they'll have a strong sense of ownership and pride about their new clean water source. Once it's finished, this tank can begin catching rainfall that will be used by the school’s students and staff. Students will no longer have to worry about where their water's coming from.

We and the school strongly believe that with this assistance, standards will significantly improve. These higher standards will translate to better academic performance!

Project Updates


July, 2019: Giving Update: George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School

A year ago, your generous donation enabled us to build a rain tank for George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow our local teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories. Read more…




May, 2018: George Khaniri Kaptisi Secondary School Project Complete

George Khaniri Kaptisi Secondary School in Kenya now has a new source of safe, clean water thanks to your support: A new rainwater catchment system has been built. Handwashing stations were installed, and students and staff have received training in sanitation and hygiene.

New Knowledge

Hygiene and sanitation training was scheduled with the help of the school principal, who ensured that the training date would be convenient for students, staff, and parent representatives. Individual teachers helped by selecting students from each class to represent the others. Some 20 people were in attendance but, only 2 boys attended because it was held on a Saturday.

The training took place in a classroom which was cool with good air circulation. It was sunny and hot outside but that did not affect the training in any way.

A number of topics were covered, including personal hygiene such as bathing, oral hygiene, and handwashing with soap as a barrier from germs; operation and maintenance of the new facilities, with each person understanding their role for long-lasting clean water and good health. The new child to child (CTC) health club will be greatly involved in project management and will be responsible for encouraging good health and hygiene practices amongst their peers, teachers, and the larger community.

The participants were a little bit shy at the begging of the training. After a little time, they relaxed and participated in the interactive portions. At the end of the training, they were very proud to be associated with the CTC health club and also to be hygiene ambassadors both at school and at home.

VIP Latrines

Latrine construction underway

This project funded the installation of six new ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines. The girls received three new pit latrine doors since the boys already had some useable latrines. All of these new latrines have cement floors that are easy to use and clean. And with a rainwater catchment tank, there should be enough water to keep them clean all the time.

Girls stand in their new latrines

Handwashing Stations

The two handwashing stations were delivered to the school and handed over to the CTC club. These were placed outside of the boys’ and girls’ latrines to encourage handwashing after latrine use.

Handwashing station training

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 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.

The iron mesh frame for the tank walls.

Then, we cleared 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.

Cement walls for tank

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.

Dome construction could begin 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 standard.

Once finished, the tank was given three to four weeks to undergo complete curing before it was cleaned and handed over to George Khaniri Kaptisi Secondary School, though we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program.

"This new water point is such a blessing for us. Our kitchen staff will now have an easy time fetching water for us because we will connect a hose pipe to the tap and the water will reach the kitchen staff without them straining. The students and the teachers now will have clean and safe water for drinking," Mr. Moses Liyai, the deputy headteacher, said.

The ceremony was a great chance for us to acknowledge the school administration and students as the primary parties entrusted with the tools we’ve given, as well as remind them of our continued support as they develop.




March, 2018: George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School Project Underway

A severe clean water shortage at George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School drains students’ time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point on school grounds and much more.

Get to know your 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 Videos


Project Photos


Project Type

For a rainwater collection system, we build gutters around a building with good, clean roofing to channel rain where we want it. From there, the water falls through a filtered inlet pipe into a high-capacity storage tank, the size of which is based on population and average rainfall patterns. In the tank, water can be stored for months, where it is easily treated and accessed. Learn more here!


Giving Update: George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School

July, 2019

A year ago, you funded a rainwater tank at George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School in Kenya – creating a life-changing moment for Elijah Iravonga. Thank you!

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School maintain access to safe, reliable water. Together, they keep The Water Promise.

We’re confident you'll love joining this world-changing group committed to sustainability!

Life at George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School has never been the same since the installation of their rainwater tank and sanitation project just over a year ago.

Most of the time that students previously wasted looking for water for cleaning is now spent studying. After the completion of the projects at the school, we got a lot of calls from the surrounding community members who requested for our artisan to come back and construct their own rainwater harvesting tank in their homes. We are glad that the surrounding parents and other community members have embraced the tank and positive hygiene behavior.

The students report really loving the tank more than the old, seasonal hand-dug well. They say that the water in the tank is easily accessible and saves time. We could spot the students drinking water and washing their cups and hands at the tank during the tea break.

After watching a disappointing string of previously attempted water projects, Teacher Eric Munene knows a successful water point when he sees one. Eric was excited to share his thoughts on the project with us when we visited.

"This project was a godsend to us," he said.

"We had tried to dig a hand-dug well which dried up. In addition to that, we went ahead to drill a borehole which also went dry and the pump sank into the hole. We had to convert the borehole area into a compost pit. The existing hand-dug well is seasonal with insufficient water. Since the [rain tank] was brought to the school last year, we have sufficient water throughout the rainy seasons."

Sylvia Vihenda

For 18-year-old student Elijah Iravonga, the water and sanitation projects at his school have meant all the difference in his school routine and academic success.

"We used to crowd at the hand-dug well before the rainwater harvesting tank was constructed," Elijah recalled.

"Sometimes the well would dry out and we were forced to carry water from home or go to a seasonal spring in the evening. This would physically drain us and we would also go thirsty throughout the day because our water sources were not very safe for drinking. Right now we have plenty of water for drinking, cleaning, washing [dishes], and [washing] our hands after visiting the toilet."

Elijah (left) with classmates, teacher Mr. Eric Munene, and Field Officer Joan


Navigating through intense dry spells, performing preventative maintenance, conducting quality repairs when needed and continuing to assist community leaders to manage water points are all normal parts of keeping projects sustainable. The Water Promise community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School maintain access to safe, reliable water.

We’d love for you to join this world-changing group committed to sustainability.

The most impactful way to continue your support of George Khaniri Kaptisi Mixed Secondary School – and hundreds of other places just like this – is by joining our community of monthly givers.

Your monthly giving will help provide clean water, every month... keeping The Water Promise.