Ikoli Primary School-Mumias East

There is no source of water at Ikoli Primary School. When students need water, they have to leave school and walk to Andati Spring in the surrounding village. Since this water is shared with the community, students often have to wait their turn at the back of the line.

The students get tired since the full containers of water are heavy for them. Time meant for studying and socializing is wasted as students look for water. This water is poured into one of the two filter containers the school has outside, while the rest is kept in the same containers used for fetching.

"The [filters] cannot supply enough drinking water, and most pupils prefer to draw water from the spring which is not treated. If you construct the water tank for us I am sure I will have a healthy school," said Deputy Headteacher Emmanuael.

Lack of water in the school has compromised hygiene. We observed that utensils are not cleaned very well. The latrines are dirty and smelly, and the lack of water is compounding this problem. There is no water to mop the dusty floors, so jiggers are bothering several students.

Ikoli Primary School was established in 2013 by the county. Enrollment that first year was 46 pupils across four grades. It has since grown into a full school from grades one to eight. Early Childhood Development classes are also held in the adjacent church building. Now, there are 559 students taught by 14 teachers. There isn't much more room to grow on the school's one-acre plot of land. The teachers do not have a staff room, and so they sit on the verandah of the classroom building.

Ikoli is a peaceful village with lots of trees, located about one hour away from our office.

Students start arriving from 6:30am to 8, immediately starting on cleaning the compound, sweeping classrooms and doing homework. Normal learning begins at 8:20am and go until lunch at 12:40pm. Classes begin back up at 2pm. Students have this long lunch window because most have to return home to find something to eat. There are games and club meetings at 3:10 before students are dismissed. Some students are always scheduled to go out and draw water from a spring and bring it back to school for storage. This water is stored overnight and used the following day.

What we can do:

Rainwater Catchment Tank

A rainwater catchment tank will help curb water scarcity here, enabling pupils to settle back into a steady class routine. This 50,000-liter tank will be used for drinking, cooking lunch for grades seven and eight as they prepare for high school entrance exams, handwashing, and cleaning the latrines and classrooms.

VIP Latrines

The school administration admitted that the girls' latrines have gotten so bad that they need to be demolished. We will have these demolished and build new latrines in their stead. While the latrines we build are normally split between the boys and girls, we will set aside all six latrine doors to serve the girls.

Handwashing Stations

Two handwashing 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.

Training

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 handwashing stations, and make sure they are kept clean and in working condition. They will be ambassadors for hygiene and sanitation among their peers at school and their families at home.

Project Updates

October, 2019: Giving Update: Ikoli Primary School

A year ago, your generous donation helped Ikoli Primary School in Kenya access clean water.

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

January, 2019: Ikoli Primary School Project Complete

There is a new rainwater catchment system at Ikoli Primary School! Students have a source of safe, clean water thanks to your support. Handwashing stations were installed so that students can clean up after using their new latrines, and students and staff have received training in sanitation and hygiene.

New Knowledge

We start planning for hygiene and sanitation training during construction. With the help of the headteacher and sanitation and hygiene teacher, the school selected students from classes four to six.

We met in a classroom during a hot, sunny day. The 23 participants were very active and showed great interest in what they were learning.

The students and their teachers needed knowledge on how to improve standards of hygiene and ensure that the sanitation facilities given to them are well-maintained for years to come. Some of the topics we covered included water pollution and treatment methods, handwashing, dental hygiene, operations and maintenance of the facilities, group dynamics, and leadership and governance.

Tank care training held at the tank

These leadership activities segued into establishment of a student health club and the election of its leaders. This club will share the message of good hygiene and health that they learned during training.

The students were most interested in dental hygiene as the trainer demonstrated toothbrushing. One of the participants said that his mother had taught him to brush his teeth before taking breakfast to avoid vomiting because of the toothpaste, but he learned the contrary and promised to return home to teach his mother.

"This training will help us improve on sanitation and hygiene both here at school and at home," said 13-year-old Simon.

"We have learned how to keep ourselves clean and drinking clean water."

Handwashing Stations

Pupils can now enjoy washing their hands with soap thanks to the two handwashing stations that were delivered to their school. These new handwashing opportunities will help reduce cases of hygiene-related illness. The training on hygiene has motivated these students to share what they’ve learned with their peers at school and families at home.

A new handwashing station placed outside of the girls' latrines

VIP Latrines

This project funded the installation of six new ventilated improved pit latrines. These were all given to the female students since they had the greatest need. 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.

The girls were especially happy to have these new latrines because their old latrines had just collapsed