Project Status



Project Type:  Rainwater Catchment

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 500 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Oct 2019

Functionality Status:  Low/No Water or Mechanical Breakdown

Last Checkup: 02/03/2024

Project Features


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It was a Wednesday afternoon when I visited the school. There, I found two teachers waiting at the administration block office who welcomed me warmly. I introduced myself and then the headteacher gave me a chance to move about the school and collect information about the need.

The school is in a rural and peaceful place. The buildings are made of bricks and have iron sheets for roofs, with 16 total classrooms and an office building. There are 600 students here who study English, Kiswahili, mathematics, religion, science, social studies, hygiene and nutrition, and physical education. There is also a small playing field where children play football and kora. Kora is a traditional game using small stones; the children throw one up in the air and must fetch another one from the ground before they catch the first stone.

The main water source is an open dug well on school grounds. It has a hatch that's opened so a bucket can be lowered on a rope. The entire process of fetching water is dangerous for these students because the opening is large enough for them to fall inside. And the water isn't even safe for drinking since the well isn't properly protected from contamination. Though the water that comes out is sometimes brown, students still drink it when they're thirsty.

This dug well is also prone to drying up when it doesn't rain for several days. When students lower the bucket and can't find water, they must walk to a neighboring boys' high school and wait in line to use water from their borehole.

There isn't any water storage back at Kimangeti Primary School so students leave water sitting out in the same containers they used to fetch it.

Students are getting sick from their contaminated well and miss school to find treatment. "The pupils get a rough time to go fetch water at the hand-dug well and at the borehole at Kimangeti Boys'. They then come back to class to read and they do not concentrate well in class leading to poor performance in school," said Teacher Kamwani.

What we can do:

"The school is in need of sanitation facilities and we have a shortage of latrines. The school enrolls many pupils now and they waste a lot of time queueing to access the toilets. Also there is no water storage facility within the school compound. We shall really appreciate if you consider us!" said Teacher Opati.

VIP Latrines

We will construct two triple-door latrines 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. Students will no longer spend their time on the arduous task of lifting a heavy container out of the open well, nor will they have to walk to use water from the neighboring school's well. They will have both a source of water and a place to store and treat it.

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

Training

We will hold training on good hygiene habits 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

This CTC club will oversee the new facilities, such as handwashing stations, and make sure they are kept clean and in working condition. The 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.

Project Updates


October, 2019: Kimangeti Primary School Project Complete!

Kimangeti Primary School in Kenya now has access to a new source of safe, clean water thanks to the completion of their rain tank, which has the ability to collect 50,000 liters of water. We installed new latrines for students, handwashing stations, and we trained students and staff on improved sanitation and hygiene practices. All of these components work together to unlock the opportunity for these students to live better, healthier lives.

Rain Tank

Construction for this 50,000-liter rain 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 women and men 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 rain tank. This needed to be the best site with good, clean roofing to catch the rainwater.

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 level ground and then reinforcing it using steel, concrete, and waterproof cement.

Pouring the rain tank's cement foundation

Both the drawing pipe as well as the washout pipe were affixed as the foundation was laid. The wall was built with ferro-cement techniques through 6 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.

Working inside the rain tank to cement the walls

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 3 to 4 weeks to undergo complete curing before it was cleaned and handed over to Kimangeti Primary School, though we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program.

The celebration 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.

"This project is a new dawn in our lives. God is so great He has brought us [your] team and this will really change our lives," said teacher Mrs. Respah Musa.

"On behalf of the entire school community...we thank the organization for the support of the sanitation facilities in our school and construction of the water tank. May God bless you abundantly so that you may continue to give a hand elsewhere."

Celebrating the new rain tank

VIP Latrines

This project funded the installation of 6 new ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines, half for girls and half for boys. All of these new latrines have cement floors that are designed to be easy to use and clean. And with a rain tank right on school property, there should be enough water to keep them clean.

Girls outside their new latrines

Boys outside their new latrines

Handwashing Stations

The 2 handwashing stations were delivered to the school and handed over to the student health club. These were placed outside of the girls’ and boys’ latrines to encourage handwashing after latrine use.

Girls washing their hands outside the latrines

Health club members teach other students how to properly wash their hands at the stations, make sure the stations are filled with water and work to ensure that there is always soap or ash available.

New Knowledge

Hygiene and sanitation training was scheduled with the help of teacher Mr. Ernest Opati, who worked with school administrators to ensure 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.

20 students attended the training, which was well organized. The attendance was as expected and there were no other major school activities that would have impacted negatively on the training. During the morning session, the weather was cold and wet but in the afternoon weather conditions changed to hot and sunny. We had no problems since we were in one of the classrooms which made the atmosphere very conducive for learning.

Handwashing demonstration with Facilitator Victor Musemi

We covered a number of topics, including personal hygiene such as bathing, oral hygiene, and handwashing with soap as a barrier from germs; and operation and maintenance of the new facilities, with each person understanding their role for long-lasting clean water and good health. The new student 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 pupils showed a high level of intellect by asking many questions and even interacting with each other. This was one class that was ready to learn as evidenced by their cooperation and willingness to listen to the facilitators. The group was vibrant and participated actively and promised to use the knowledge gained in their daily activities.

During the leadership and governance session, democracy was tested after the facilitator had explained all about leadership. The pupils elected a young girl who was very intelligent to lead others and this surprised other pupils and even teachers that such a young girl had managed to win the votes compared to her older colleagues.

Training complete!

While covering the maintenance and cleaning of the rain tank, handwashing stations, and latrines, the pupils were able to learn and do practicals in all stages. They cleaned the area, identified parts of the tank, and some even wanted to know more about how the construction process was done.

"We are happy as [a] school for the knowledge that you have imparted [to] us. This [will] serve the entire Kimang'eti School and even the community, for we shall share the knowledge with others. Thanks a lot," said teacher Mrs. Judith Wafula.

Thank you for making all of this possible!




September, 2019: Kimangeti Primary School Project Underway!

A severe clean water shortage at Kimangeti Primary School drains students’ time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install 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 more good news!




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 Underwriter - Da Bomb Bath Fizzers
Mitch Brownlie, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia