Rehabilitation Project
The small tank at Kamulalani Primary School is filled from multiple sources - rainwater, water fetched from scoop holes and transported by donkeys, and water brought in by students each day. The cumulative sources are not nearly enough to meet the needs of the more than 450 students here, and are unsafe for consumption. And carrying water from home is a burden on the students, many of whom live more than two kilometers away from the school.
Students spend a lot of their time in pursuit of water. This greatly affects their academic performance, as the time spent on water could otherwise have been spent in class and on personal studies.
The lack of water impacts the school in other ways, too. The school's tree planting program has stalled due to the lack of an adequate water supply to sustain such a water-intensive activity. The growth of the school has also stalled due to the rising costs of construction projects driven by the expense of acquiring water to build bricks.
It is also problematic for the health of the students while at school.
"The lack of enough water in school has led to poor conditions at the latrines as they’re rarely cleaned. The classes are always dusty, exposing us to poor hygiene conditions and an unfavorable learning environment with low levels of cleanliness," said Emanuel Musau, a student at the school.
Kamulalani Primary School is found in Kamulalani Village of Makueni County. The school is in a peaceful rural location with Kamulalani Secondary School on the left and community households to the right. The area is largely dry, characterized by low vegetation cover in the surrounding areas. The school's buildings look decent and are made of bricks and covered with iron sheets.
The school was started by local community members in 1985 through an initiative started by opinion leaders within the village who saw the need for a school to reduce the distances traveled by children. The school has since been taken up by the Kenyan government to operate as a government school and has grown as a result of support from parents and the government.
Here’s what we’re going to do about it:
Rainwater Catchment Tank
We will build a 104,000-liter rainwater catchment tank for this school. This water will benefit the students, teachers, and supplementary staff. Parents will mobilize the materials needed for construction, such as sand and stone. They will also lend some strong arms to help with the actual construction.
The huge capacity of this tank makes the others look tiny in comparison; 104,000 liters should be enough water to carry students and staff through the entire dry season. As soon as the tank has time to cure, it can begin to collect rainwater for drinking, cooking, and cleaning!
Training
Students and staff will be trained for one day. Those in attendance will form a school health club that will promote good hygiene and sanitation practices both at school and home. They will learn all of the steps to proper handwashing, how to treat water, and how to keep their environment clean. The school will also be taught how to best oversee and maintain their new rainwater catchment tank and handwashing stations.
Handwashing Stations
Three handwashing stations will be delivered at the project’s completion. These are 1,000-liter plastic tanks fitted with four taps. The health club and school management will be responsible for making sure tanks are filled with water and that a cleaning agent such as soap or ash is available.
