May, 2019: Kapkemich Primary School Project Complete

There is a new rainwater catchment system at Kapkemich 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 received training in sanitation and hygiene.

Rainwater Catchment Tank

Construction of this new rainwater catchment tank was a big success.

"We are very proud that we now have a big water storage tank built for us and within our reach. We look forward to utilizing the convenience brought by this tank by capitalizing on the time saved to engage more in academic-related activities," said 13-year-old Jebet.

"The tank has also helped in assuring the security of girls. In the previous years it was very unsafe for us to go looking for water in the bushes or in places away from the safe watching eyes of responsible people. We lived in great fear. But now this water point is my pride, my hope and my reason to trust God for better, greater, and more honorable things in life."

The school was dealing with a closure notice it had been given by the health inspection team, and everyone was very concerned. When the idea about the project was introduced to the school staff by the headteacher, they only thought of him as a daydreamer.

However hard the headteacher, Mr. Wycliffe Isatia, tried to explain to them that he has had firsthand experience with our organization at a previous school he worked at, they hardly believed him. So when the hardware materials were finally delivered to the school, the school fraternity was amazed and so delighted that they could not wait to set their eyes on the construction process.

They supported the project by collecting all of the extra local resources like stones and sand, and ensuring that pupils fetch water for the artisans to mix cement. The deputy headteacher, Mr. Paul Biwot and the librarian, Mr. Joseph Ruto, were so excited about the water tank that they invited us to visit their home villages to help them improve the water infrastructure there. People's willingness and vigor throughout the whole process was encouraging and gives us high hopes that they will manage the project very well.

The Process:

Our staff and the school administration started by looking around the school to determine the best location for their new rainwater catchment tank. This needed to be the best site with good, clean roofing to catch the rainwater.

Upon the decision of the construction site, the top earth layer is excavated and cleared. Stones are then carefully packed onto the excavated area to create a strong foundation.

The foundation is cast with sand, cement, ballast, and waterproof cement. As this is being done, the wall’s skeleton of wire mesh and rebar is erected and secured into the foundation. Upon completion of the foundation, the walls are cemented and plastered to completion both inside and outside.

The catchment area is dug, plastered, and a staircase installed so students can easily get water from the tap. A metal cover with a lock is placed over the catchment area to avoid water wastage.

A concrete reinforcement pillar is built up to support the dome, which is also made of a strong wire mesh and concrete. A hatch is installed in the dome to allow the tank to be cleaned out before heavy rain, and the gutter system is also installed at this time.

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

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.

VIP Latrines

This project funded the installation of six new ventilated improved pit latrines, three latrine doors for the boys and three latrine doors for the girls. 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.

New Knowledge

The school headteacher helped to plan the schedule for training and to recruit participants. He managed to get representation from community members, local leaders, teachers, staff, the school board of management, students, and from the neighboring church. The students in attendance formed a child to child (CTC) health club that will share what they learned with their peers and families at home. The adults in attendance came together as the water committee, which will oversee the project.

All of the attendees were actively involved in discussions and learning topics. When they were told to view their community as a tree which has parts such as roots (actors/contributors), trunk (representing positive change), branches (influence of change), and fruits (benefits of change), they got excited and wanted to pay more attention during training to learn how to reap the fruits of this project. The participants were also very interested in how to control birds (threats to the fruits) that could derail the gains that came with the efforts that had been put in so far.

We taught students 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 ways to treat water for drinking

– handwashing

The concept of making handwashing facilities from locally available resources really motivated the participants to embrace handwashing. They were amazed that leaky tins and tippy-taps require so little to be made. To make a leaky tin, a small hole is created near the bottom of a three-liter jerrycan and then a stick is used to seal it. The container is then filled with clean water and suspended on a tree so that users can simply wash their hands by unblocking the hole.

The demonstration on how to make either of the handwashing facilities only required a little bit of time, use of any container, clean water, and ash as the handwashing agent. Pupils were delighted when they realized how simple the procedure is. They promised to replicate the same idea in their homes.

– dental hygiene

– personal and environmental hygiene
– group dynamics along with leadership and governance for the newly formed CTC health club and water committee

Both the CTC club and the water management committee were formed at this point, and various people were assigned roles of leadership.

– operations and maintenance of the facilities

The school was at the brink of being closed down due to its inability to meet the minimum standard concerning sanitation and other basic facilities an institution should have. Having to constantly leave school and go out to collect dirty water was draining these students and staff. Thus, they were very interested to see to it that every possible strategy is put in place to keep that from ever happening again.

"I promise to go home and make either a leaky tin or a tippy-tap for my personal use, and I will go from home to home checking if these pupils have put into practice what we are learning today. We can no longer fail to wash our hands after visiting the latrine when we have been taught the simplest way to do so," said parent John Chepkwony.

Thank You for making all of this possible!

April, 2019: Kapkemich Primary School Project Underway

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

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