Project Status



Project Type:  Rainwater Catchment

Regional Program: Southeastern Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 461 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Aug 2024

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 11/29/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

The 461 students and staff of Mutwangombe Secondary School, a day school in rural Kitui County, face a water crisis each day.

The school has several small water tanks with a total capacity of 50,000 liters. Still, because of the hot and dry climate and the large student population, they are not large enough to sustain the whole school during the several months of drought.

"There are times when no water is in school, especially during the peak drought periods. This forces me to stay thirsty and hungry throughout the day. It is difficult to focus on what the teacher is saying when your throat is burning from thirst. I also have to bear with the foul smell from the latrines because they are rarely cleaned, thanks to the scanty availability of water. I have to remove my sweater and blouse before using the latrine to prevent the odor from sticking on my garments," said 16-year-old Margaret K. (seen below).

When the tanks are dry, the school has to purchase water from a water delivery truck, but finding sufficient funds for the expense is difficult. The deliveries are often delayed, especially during drought periods, causing meals to be delayed, and students go to class thirsty and hungry, affecting their concentration. Sadly, the water delivered is also often contaminated, exposing students to water-related infections such as amoeba, typhoid, and dysentery.

"The students are often sent home or to [the] hospital due to water-related infections like typhoid, amoeba, and dysentery. The school has experienced dismal academic performance because of student absenteeism, thanks to the water-related infections," said 56-year-old headteacher Mwikali James, shown below.

"Running school operations like building more classrooms is difficult because water is scarce. I have also purchased water during peak drought periods using the strained resources because the students have to drink and eat during their stay in school," continued Mwikali.

Installing a 104,000-litre rainwater harvesting tank will ensure students have a clean water source within the school so they are no longer thirsty or exposed to water-related infections. The school will save on water expenses, purchase more learning materials, and build more infrastructure to improve the student's education, giving them more opportunities for the future.

"The set up of a water project in our school will reduce the financial strain, and I will not have to send students home for fees. They will take their meals on time and be free from distractions," concluded Mwikali.

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


August, 2024: Mutwang’ombe Secondary School Rain Tank Complete!

Mutwang’ombe Secondary School in Kenya now has access to a new safe, clean water source thanks to the completion of their 104,000-liter rain tank! In addition, we installed handwashing stations and trained students and staff on improved sanitation and hygiene practices. Together, these components will unlock the opportunity for these students to live better, healthier lives.

"We will no longer be stressing about thirst during classes, and this will enable us to concentrate during lessons and excel in our studies. We will also be performing regular hygiene practices like handwashing, as well as washing our classes and latrines. We will also be drinking clean water which will improve our health because we are no longer exposed to infections like typhoid or stomach upsets," shared 17-year-old Peter.

Peter.

58-year-old headteacher Regina James Mwikali said, "We are very glad about the completion of this water point because it will help us reduce water expenses in our school thanks to its large capacity that can last throughout the term. The student's and teachers' health will also improve since they will now be drinking clean water whenever they feel thirsty. We will also [have] enough water to conduct hygiene duties like washing our hands regularly, [our] utensils, as well as classrooms and latrines."

Regina.

"When students have enough water in the school to drink and improve hygiene, they will feel more comfortable during their stay in school. They will no longer be exposed to water-related infections that forced them out because they will now be drinking clean water from this point. Hence, they will always be present for their classes and improve their performance in both academics and extracurricular activities," she continued.

Rain Tank Construction Process

First, we held a meeting with all parents and the school 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 gutter system.

Materials collected.

This tank is a whopping 104,000 liters because of how rarely it rains in Southeastern Kenya. Therefore, the more water the tank can store during the seasonal rains, the more water will be available through the dry months for the students.

Construction begins!

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 impermeable rocks and mortar up to seven feet high for the tank's outer walls. With such sturdy construction (the walls have internal and external diameters of 25 and 28 feet, respectively!), the tank will stand for a long time.

We built a reinforced concrete column up to the tank’s center, which holds the roof and prevents it from caving in. We then plastered the walls inside and out with waterproof cement. After that, we installed guttering and channeled it into the tank. Finally, we installed the roofing, made of iron sheets and timber with vents to allow rainwater into the tank from the gutters.

Handwashing Stations

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

Handwash station.

New Knowledge

We trained on a variety of health, hygiene, and sanitation topics. These included student health club activities, disease transmission and prevention, personal hygiene, handwashing, water hygiene, food hygiene, latrine hygiene, and soapmaking.

Training.

With over 400 participants, the training was a lively event!

Field Officer Alex Koech said, "The [soapmaking] activity entails showing a practical demonstration of [the] handwashing procedure. During the demonstration, students noticed leaves falling from a tree. When they looked up, they noticed that it was a student, who had climbed the tree claiming that he wanted to see well. Jokingly, the male teacher (who was elected the health club patron) said that he thought it was a monkey."

Training.

17-year-old student Joseph shared, "This training is important and useful in our lives since it addresses health issues that have been of concern to us. It has taught us that we need good hygienic practices to prevent diseases and stay healthy. In our area, there are multiple cases of diarrhea-related diseases due to [a] lack of access to safe water, as well as issues of open defecation. These issues will be addressed at our homestead levels, and such incidences will [be] reduced."

Joseph.

Thank you for making all of this possible!




June, 2024: Mutwang’ombe Secondary School Rain Tank Underway!

The lack of adequate water in Mutwang’ombe Secondary School costs students time, energy, and health every single day. Clean water scarcity contributes to community instability and diminishes individuals’ personal progress.

But thanks to your recent generosity, things will soon improve here. We are now working to install a reliable water point and improve hygiene standards. We look forward to sharing inspiring news in the near future!




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 - Lifeplus Foundation
7 individual donor(s)