Project Status



Project Type:  Rainwater Catchment

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 389 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jan 2020

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 01/12/2024

Project Features


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Kapkures Primary School was established in 1953 by the African Inland Church (AIC) to reduce the distance local students had to travel to receive an education. It is one of the oldest schools in Nandi County and sits on 3.6 hectares of land. Currently, 376 students between pre-primary and eighth grade attend the school, taught and supported by 13 teachers and staff. The school has about 10 classrooms and a large playing field.

We learned about Kapkures Primary School thanks to the Head Teacher of nearby Kapkemich Primary School, who knew the Head Teacher at Kapkures from their time working together in Vihiga County, before being transferred to Nandi County. Together, they approached our staff to see if Kapkures would be eligible for a similar project to Kapkemich, and we have been working with Kapkures Primary School ever since.

The school is in a rural part of Nandi County where the community is predominantly agrarian. Tea, coffee, and trees like eucalyptus do well here, making the environment very green. The buildings in the area range from temporary to semi-permanent and permanent ones.

A normal day for students at Kapkures Primary starts early in the morning. At 7:00 am students are expected to be at school for morning preps, when they study and revise work. Lessons start at 8:00 am, with 6 lessons and 2 breaks all before lunch at 12:40 pm. Breaking for lunch until 2:00 pm, students return to class at 3:10 pm when they transition to games and sports for an hour. by 4:10 pm, students are back on their way home.

This schedule is often started, and more frequently interrupted, by the students' need to fetch water at a nearby partially protected spring. The spring is down many steep paths that become extremely slippery in the mud when it rains.  According to the school's Head Teacher Mr. Japheth K. Maiyo, 2 pupils were recently injured after falling down the path when they had gone to fetch water from the spring. The school had to cover the medical costs for those pupils.

The spring is inadequate to sustain the school's water needs throughout the year due to its distance from the school, its shared use with the community, and its seasonality. For example, during this last year's dry season, the spring dried up completely. Because the spring is shared with the community, students must sometimes wait in line to collect water, which increases the school time lost to fetching water.

There is no water storage drum or water treatment available at the school. The containers students carry to the spring are therefore the maximum capacity of water storage at any given time, when they are full. The only other source of water for Kapkures Primary School is rainwater collection, done by putting out buckets to collect runoff from the roof.

"Our pupils are always forced to go outside the school to fetch water from nearby available sources which may not be so safe for human consumption, exposing the entire school to contracting waterborne diseases," said Head Teacher Mr. Japheth K. Maiyo.

The current sanitation situation in the school is very poor. Initially, girls had 8 doors of VIP latrines to themselves, but this building collapsed and left them with none. The school management then had to surrender 3 doors of latrines meant for teachers to the girls, but they are still struggling.

"The hygiene in the school is so wanting...The 3-door pit latrines meant for teachers were surrendered to [the] girls but they are not enough. We do appeal you to consider us so as to improve on sanitation and hygiene in our school, " said school Chairperson Mr. David Mbacha.

These and the boys' latrines are rarely cleaned due to the water scarcity in the school, and sometimes too-long lines at the latrines mean that students are still forced to seek out other places to go to the bathroom. Hygiene in the kitchen is wanting as well; dirty utensils go uncleaned and are reused when there is not enough water to wash them.

What we can do:

Rain Tank

A 50,000-liter rain tank will help alleviate the water crisis at this school. The school will help collect the needed construction materials such as sand, bricks, rocks, and water for mixing cement. We will complement their materials by providing an expert artisan, tools, hardware, and the guttering system. Once finished, this tank will begin catching rainfall that will be used by the school’s students and staff for drinking, handwashing, cooking, cleaning, and much more.

We and the school strongly believe that all of these components will work together to improve standards at this school, which will help lead to better student academic performance and will help unlock the opportunity for these students to live better, healthier lives.

Handwashing Stations

There is currently nowhere for students to wash their hands after using the latrines or before eating lunch, let alone the water to do so.

The student health club will oversee the 2 new handwashing stations we will provide, and make sure they are kept clean and in working condition. The club leaders will fill the handwashing stations with water daily and make sure they are always supplied with a cleaning agent such as soap or ash.

VIP Latrines

2 triple-door latrines will be constructed with local materials that the school will help gather. 3 doors will serve the girls while the other 3 will serve the boys. All of these new latrines will have cement floors that are designed to be easy to use and to clean. And with a rain tank right on school property, there should be enough water to keep them clean.

Training

We will hold training on improved hygiene, health, and sanitation habits for 2 days at this school. Our team of facilitators will use a variety of methods to train students and staff, including participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation (PHAST) and asset-based community development (ABCD). We will initiate a child-to-child (CTC) health club, which will prepare students to lead other students into healthy habits at school and at home.  We will also lead lectures, group discussions, and provide illustrative handouts to teach health topics and ways to promote good hygiene practices within the school.

Project Updates


January, 2020: Kapkures Primary School Project Complete!

Kapkures 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 and handwashing stations for students, 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.

Students say "Thank you!" for clean running water

"I lack words to express my happiness. Indeed, God answers prayers because as you know, you witnessed the challenges that our kids have been going through when we sent them to go and fetch water from the spring which is on a steep slope. Now, I am so relieved because our kids will have access to safe and clean water from within the compound. I am also very optimistic that our kids will perform well in their studies because they will no longer have to waste their time going to fetch water from afar. The support you have given to us has been generous and overwhelming," said a very happy Head Teacher Mr. Japheth Maiyo.

Thumbs up for a fresh drink from the rain tank

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, the school cooks prepared 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.

Students help deliver large stones for the rain tank's foundation

Then, we cleared the site by 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.

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.

Artisans cement interior tank 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.

Artisan works on cementing the tap access point beneath the manhole cover

The only challenge the artisan experienced throughout the entire process was that due to the school's location in a high land, they receive high rainfall throughout most of the year. Rains gave the artisan a hard time as it could rain early in the morning, and sometimes 2 to 3 times in a day interrupting work. Due to the team's careful planning and persistence, however, they were finally able to complete all work on time.

Team Leader Catherine Chepkemoi behind a young girl having fun with rain tank water

The school was very cooperative during the entire implementation period. Every time the artisans anticipated a shortage of materials, the students' parents and the school would deliver more locally available materials on time. This made the work run smoothly. The challenge of heavy rains could at times pose a challenge, but it was inevitable given the season and the work team was able to strategically adapt their schedule to get the construction done on time.

A student plays with the rain tank water

Once finished, the tank was given 3 weeks to undergo complete curing before it was cleaned and handed over to Kapkures Primary School, though we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. The celebration of the first clean water flowing through the tap 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. (To see the celebration for yourself, check out the video of thanks under the Photos tab of this project page!)

A young student enjoying the rain tank water

VIP Latrines

This project funded the installation of 6 new ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines, 2 for girls and 4 for boys. This division was based on the higher number of latrines the girls already had on campus.

Girls pose in front of their new latrines

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.

Boys pose in front of 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 line up to wash hands

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.

A boy washes his hands

New Knowledge

Hygiene and sanitation training was scheduled with the help of the school principal and Heach Teacher Mr. Japheth Maiyo, who tegether helped 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.

We were expecting not more than 20 participants but we ended up having 26, which was a great turnout. Training was held inside a classroom before moving outside for the practicals using the newly installed facilities. Participants at first were so nervous in front of our team, but after an introduction was done they were relieved when Mr. Sitienei, the teacher in charge for the day, briefed them about the days' format. Having known that the training was all about WaSH, the pupils were very jovial and asked relevant questions as well as seeking clarification on what they wanted to know more about.

A girl shares her work during training

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.

A boy demonstrates toothbrushing to his classmates during training

Class 5 representatives were particularly interested in dental care and hygiene but others were not left out as they were much informed on leadership and governance. During the latter session, through brainstorming the pupils were able to give the qualities of a good leader, adding that they should be a very strong person. This topic was made special when participants chose a student named Victor, a very small boy, to be the student health club chairperson despite the fact that they had stated that a leader should be very strong physically. This led to a good discussion on the different variations of strength, and how it is more than purely physical.

A student leads a handwashing demonstration during training

"Today's training came at the right time...We will...teach our parents and our siblings the correct way of doing things. We will also...construct a leaky tin and act exemplary to others," said pupil Faith after completing the training.

Thank you for making all of this possible!




December, 2019: Kapkures Primary School Project Underway!

A severe clean water shortage at Kapkures 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 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!


Contributors

Project Sponsor - Santagato Studios