Project Status



Project Type:  Rainwater Catchment

Regional Program: Southeastern Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 305 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Mar 2025

Functionality Status:  Functional

Project Features


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Community Profile

The 305 students and teachers of Kasioni Primary School face a water crisis every day.

There are a couple of small rain tanks with taps on the school campus, but none of them are large enough to hold sufficient water to meet the school's needs. When the tanks run dry, which they inevitably do, students must walk to the local river to retrieve water. It is a time-consuming and exhausting task.

According to Unicef, "When water is further away, it requires more time to collect, which often means less time at school. Particularly for girls, a shortage of water in schools impacts student enrollment, attendance and performance."

"When the taps dry totally, pupils are forced to be sent to the river, around 1 kilometer from the school. If collecting water has taken too long, many boys and girls arrive late to class. They struggle to catch up with the lesson already in progress. Teachers face challenges as well. They experience frequent interruptions from students arriving at varying times throughout the morning, making it much more difficult to deliver an effective lesson plan," said field officer Jefferson Mutie.

"The school can't live without having water, but when schools in remote communities are forced to quench their thirst from unsafe sources, they are often punished by painful waterborne diseases caused by bacteria, parasites, and other contaminants. In such cases, water scarcity puts lives at risk," said field officer Jefferson Mutie.

The task of collecting water is hard enough, but students and staff who consume unsafe water often suffer from water-related illnesses that steal more of their energy and health.

"Being the deputy head, I often get stressed whenever we don't have water in the school. I often get irritated whenever I see my pupils suffer," said 49-year-old headteacher Joseph Mwinza (seen above). "While making other decisions in the school, I have to prioritize water as a major decision because without water [there is] no school for us."

"For us, it is very hard to get water. Suffering is part of us. We sometimes lack as little as [enough] water for drinking while at school. This makes our life a bit hard in the school," said 12-year-old Eunice M., shown below, collecting water from one of the school's rain tank taps.

"Our latrines are [always] dirty, and because of the poverty levels in our community, we cannot afford shoes, hence making us step on urine and, at times, human excrement. This is a hard experience but an irresistible one," Eunice said.

The installation of a much larger rainwater catchment tank and guttering will enable the school to collect sufficient water during the short rainy season to sustain them throughout the year so students like Eunice and teachers like Joseph can focus on learning instead of wondering where to find their next drink of water.

Eunice concluded, "I hope for some bright days when [we] will no longer be worried about water, and I will enjoy being in school."

"I am hoping that water shall bring life to this precious school," said Joseph.

"Having a water tank will help pupils in this school have access to clean and reliable water all through the year, making the school run swiftly," concluded Jefferson.

Water at schools is unique, which is why we need unique solutions.

The Proposed Solution, Determined Together...

At The Water Project, everyone has a part in conversations and solutions. We operate in transparency, believing it benefits everyone. We expect reliability from one another as well as our water solutions. Everyone involved makes this possible through hard work and dedication.

In a joint discovery process, community members determine their most advantageous water solution alongside our technical experts. Read more specifics about this solution on the What We're Building tab of this project page. Then, community members lend their support by collecting needed construction materials (sometimes for months ahead of time!), providing labor alongside our artisans, sheltering and feeding the builders, and supplying additional resources.

Water Access for Everyone

This water project is one piece in a large puzzle. In Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, we're working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources that guarantee public access now and in the future within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. One day, we hope to report that this has been achieved!

Training on Health, Hygiene & More

With the community's input, we've identified topics where training will increase positive health outcomes at personal, household, and community levels. We'll coordinate with them to find the best training date. Some examples of what we train communities on are:

  • Improved hygiene, health, and sanitation habits
  • Safe water handling, storage & treatment
  • Disease prevention and proper handwashing
  • Income-generation
  • Community leadership, governance, & election of a water committee
  • Operation and maintenance of the water point

Handwashing Stations

Alongside each water source in Southeast Kenya schools, we also provide three new handwashing stations fitted with three taps each, allowing nine students to wash their hands at once. These will allow everyone at the school to wash their hands without running water. Handwashing is so important to help prevent future water-related illnesses in the school community.

The student health club will maintain the stations, fill them with water, and supply them with soap (which we will teach the school community how to make during the training!).

Project Updates


March, 2025: Kasioni Primary School Rain Tank Complete!

Your contribution has given access to clean water for the Kasioni Primary School in Kenya, thanks to the completion of their 104,000-liter rain tank! Additionally, we installed handwashing stations and trained students and staff on sanitation and hygiene practices. Together, these components will unlock the opportunity for these students to thrive!

"I will be learning in a conducive environment because there is clean water to drink. Our school infrastructure will be kept within good hygienic conditions, and our meals will be prepared on time. Exposure to water-related infections that forced us to be out of school while undergoing treatment will plummet. Therefore, I will be able to attend classes every day and excel in my studies," shared 13-year-old Mumbe.

Mumbe.

Teachers were just as excited as the students about the new rain tank on campus!

Teacher Joyce Munywa, 30, is hopeful for her students' futures! "Our learners will be drinking clean water, which prevents exposure to water-related diseases, enabling them to be in school every day and focus on learning. The pupils will no longer be carrying water from home or being sent to the Kamami River for water; hence, they will arrive early for their classes, be attentive, and get better grades. Our learners will also have peace of mind studying in a clean environment and drinking water whenever they're thirsty. This will improve their focus in class."

Teacher Joyce Munywa.

Rain Tank Construction

First, we held a meeting with all parents and the school’s headteacher to plan the project. The parents agreed to collect construction materials like sand, rocks, and water. We complemented their materials by delivering the expertise, tools, lumber, metal, cement, and a gutter system.

The cement gathered, and ready to create a home for safe water!

This tank is a whopping 104,000 liters, as it rarely rains in Southeastern Kenya. The more water the tank can store during the seasonal rains, the more water available through the dry months for the students!

The ground leveled in preparation for construction to begin.

Construction for this large rain tank is much like constructing a concrete house. First, we leveled the ground for foundation excavation. Next, we laid alternating layers of rocks and mortar up to seven feet high for the tank's outer walls. With such sturdy construction (the walls are three feet thick!), the tank will stand for a long time.

The walls are complete.

We built a reinforced concrete column in the tank’s center to sustain the roof and prevent it from caving in. We plastered the walls inside and out with waterproof cement and installed guttering into the tank. Finally, we installed the roof of the tank, made of iron sheets and timber with vents to allow rainwater into the tank from the gutters.

The tank is complete!

Handwashing Stations

We delivered three new handwashing stations in time for training. Each new station has three taps, so nine students can wash their hands simultaneously.

Students washing their hands at one of the new handwash stations.

School Education

We trained on health, hygiene, and sanitation topics. These included student health club activities, disease prevention, personal hygiene, and handwashing. We also covered water hygiene, latrine hygiene, and soapmaking.

Students learn how to wash their hands well.

12-year-old Musyimi is excited about his newly gained knowledge! He was elected the Child Health Club President, and for good reason.

Musyimi.

He shared, "We expect a tremendous improvement in hygiene and sanitation since we have gained enough knowledge that we’ve never been taught by anyone before. We have learned that hygiene is very crucial in fighting diseases and that it can boost one’s esteem. We will advise our parents as well on the importance of having sanitation infrastructures at home to help prevent diseases and the different methods of water treatment."

Thank you for making all of this possible!




January, 2025: Exciting Progress at Kasioni Primary School, Thanks to You!

We’re thrilled to share that, thanks to your generous support, significant change is coming for Eunice and the entire Kasioni Primary School. Construction has begun on the rainwater catchment project, bringing them one step closer to having clean, reliable water.

But that's not all—during construction, we’re also providing vital health training. These sessions equip the community with essential hygiene practices, ensuring that the benefits of clean water extend to lasting health improvements.

We’re so grateful for your role in making this possible. Stay tuned for more updates—soon, we’ll be celebrating the arrival of safe water at Kasioni Primary School!




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

Accelerator Match
St. Austin Catholic School
12 individual donor(s)