Project Status



Project Type:  Rainwater Catchment

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 356 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jun 2019

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 03/07/2024

Project Features


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We went to Munyanza Primary School on a cloudy afternoon but after arriving, the clouds started clearing up and we were grateful not to rush around for fear of rain.

Munyanza Primary School was started in 2008 as a Church of God sponsorship to promote education in the area. The school is built on overseer Ajioni's piece of land, but he recently refused to give more land for the school's expansion. It was just in 2017 that the school had their first national exams candidates who performed very well.

The school has two compounds. One of the sections is shared with the church and holds the lower primary pupils are squeezed in there. On that same tiny piece of land is the school assembly ground, a kitchen, and toilets that belong to the church. The other compound has three complete classrooms and two others under construction.

But there's no water to be found on school grounds. These 344 students must carry water to school each morning. To avoid having to carry a heavy water container all the way from home, students admit to filling their containers along the dirt road. There are puddles for a few days each time it rains, and there is an unprotected spring by a large rock.

The students leave their 3 to 5-liter containers on the ground outside of the classrooms. The water was visibly dirty and mishandled by the students. Most of it was turbid and would require a water filter to make it clear and clean. Drinking water in Munyanza Primary School is a health hazard.

Deputy Headteacher John Mangala said, "The students use very dirty containers to fetch water and sometimes we spot visible parasites in the water. This is the same water that is used to cook meals for us."

"I have just suffered from diarrhea within the past few weeks because I washed my mango using water from the school's kitchen."

What we can do:

Training

"The hygiene situation in this school is very wanting. In as much the pupils are practicing handwashing, they use dirty water without soap. They also do not know how to use the sanitation facilities and this exposes them to germs and infections,' said Mr. Mangala.

"We are eagerly waiting for you to come and teach our children on water handling, proper hygiene, and sanitation."

Training on good hygiene habits 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.

Handwashing Stations

We will deliver two handwashing stations 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

Four of the latrines students share with the church stink and large flies buzzed around us as we opened the doors. The floors are worn out and there is a danger of students falling through to the pit.

Two triple-door latrines will be constructed with local materials that the school will help gather. 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 help alleviate the water crisis at this school. The school will also help gather the needed materials such as sand, rocks, and water for mixing cement. Once finished, this tank can begin catching rainfall that will be used by the school’s students and staff.

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


June, 2019: Munyanza Primary School Project Complete

There is a new rainwater catchment system at Munyanza 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.

"The thing that has excited me the most concerning this tank is the lockable cover, which will ensure that the water will not be depleted by community members. I also like the size of the tank. The capacity is fit and sufficient for our school," said Mr. Ambale, a teacher at Munyanza.

Munyanza Primary School was excited to share a celebration of expectation in April of 2019 before construction even began. They felt privileged to host special visitors, whom they welcomed with Isukuti drums, song, and dance. Just a month later, the water promise that the donors came with now stands as a reality in Munyanza Primary School and the entire school fraternity is very grateful for the support. The tank will mark the end of time and energy loss during learning hours because the pupils will no longer be expected to carry water from home or to fetch it from the seasonal springs around the school.

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.

The actual construction of the rainwater tank began with excavation. Stones were then carefully packed onto the excavated area to create a strong foundation. An iron weave of waterproof cement was cast over these stones to create the slab foundation.

As this was being done, the wall’s skeleton of wire mesh and rebar was erected and secured into the foundation. Upon completion of the foundation, the walls were cemented and plastered to completion both inside and outside.

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

A concrete reinforcement pillar was built up to support the dome, which was also made of strong wire and rebar mesh and concrete. A hatch was installed in the dome to allow the tank to be cleaned out before heavy rain, and the gutter system was 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 Munyanza Primary School, though we will continue to offer them great support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. We trained the school on the frequency of gutter and tank cleaning to ensure that they collect clean water. In addition, we do routine treatment of the water every three months using rock alum and chlorine.

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 doors were given to the girls and three to the boys. These 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

We planned for hygiene and sanitation training during one of our construction supervision visits. The participants were recruited from classes four to seven by the headteacher, who also ensured both boys and girls were represented. These students formed a child to child (CTC) health club that will share what they learned through daily responsibilities and larger health promotion activities.

We arrived t the school at 11 am on a cloudy morning. Despite the clouds, the morning was not cold. We sat in a classroom which was clean with enough desks to accommodate the 35 participants. The attendance exceeded our expectations because the headteacher himself was very enthusiastic about the training and wanted everyone to benefit from it. Most of the participants were active during the training and were not shy to answer the facilitator's questions. We easily got volunteers for any demonstrations we wanted to do.

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:

– dental hygiene, and other facets of personal hygiene
– environmental hygiene
– water pollution and ways to treat drinking water
– group dynamics along with leadership and governance for the newly formed CTC health club

Students elected leaders to take on different roles of the CTC health club. They will make sure that daily cleaning chores are completed at school as well as plan additional activities to promote hygiene among the entire school community.

– operations and maintenance of the tank, latrines, and handwashing stations

While the CTC club is excited to undertake chores to clean the tank and latrines as well as keep water in the handwashing stations, the school's sanitation teacher was at training and will ultimately be responsible to see these things are regularly done.

– handwashing

When the facilitator was demonstrating the ten steps of handwashing, we could see the curiosity light up in pupils' faces. This was something that they had never known before and they were keen to learn about it and practice it over and over. Pupils were definitely more responsive to demonstration sessions than lectures. This made us to think of even more activities to include in the training that would make it more fun and interactive.

"We are glad that you came to reinforce the issue of proper handwashing and its importance. This will help our pupils stay healthy and grow up to be hygiene-conscious individuals," said Teacher Wanyonyi.

Thank You for making all of this possible!




May, 2019: Munyanza Primary School Project Underway

A severe clean water shortage at Munyanza Primary School drains students’ time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to solve this issue by building 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 with news of success!




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!


Contributors

Project Sponsor - Imago Dei Community