Project Status



Project Type:  Rainwater Catchment

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 500 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Nov 2016

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 01/09/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is a part of our shared program with Western Water And Sanitation Forum (WEWASAFO). Our team is pleased to directly share the below report (edited for clarity, as needed).

Welcome to the School

Shieywe Secondary School was started in the year 1981 by Kakamega Mayor Mr. Robert Makotisi. He started the school with the intention of enabling pupils, especially boys, to get an education. Shieywe Secondary is located 3km away from Kakamega-Kisumu Highway in Shitao Village, Mahiakalo sub-location, Bukhungu location, Kakamega Central District of Lurambi Constituency within Kakamega County.

The school has a total population of 501 students of whom 362 are boys and 139 are girls. In regard of teaching staff, the school employs 26 teachers; 10 are male and 16 are female. There are also 11 support staff, which include two cooks, three watchmen, one groundsman, one cleaner, one bursar, a secretary, a storekeeper and a matron. (Editor’s Note: While this many people may have access on any given day, realistically a single water source can only support a population of 350-500 people. This school would be a good candidate for a second project in the future so adequate water is available. To learn more, click here.)

The pupils that attend Shieywe Secondary School wake up at 5am to take a bath, brush their teeth, and eat breakfast. Once prepared, they rush to school at 6:30am to arrive at school by 7am.

Their day at school starts with morning studies. Then at 8am, students and staff assemble for prayers and announcements from the head teacher. Classes proceed until 10:30am for when students have a short, 15-minute break. Classes go till 12:45pm, when students eat lunch.

Classes resume at 2pm and continue till 4pm when pupils break to clean up their classrooms and then play games. This continues till 5:00pm when they assemble for parade and then depart for home.

Water Situation

The school has unreliable tap water.

During lunch break, pupils can be seen lining up to wash their plates and get something to drink. In cases when there is no water, they have to keep dirty plates and wait until the school can purchase bottled water.

Water vendors come and go during classes in order to supply the school with sufficient water. The school has two 5,000-liter plastic rainwater catchment tanks, but even if they were full, they wouldn't provide the student population with enough water.

The school needs to buy water three times a week. They buy 200 20-liter jerrycans at 15 shillings each. This puts weekly spending at an average of 9,000 shillings, 36,000 in a month, and 108,000 in a term.

Numerous cases of water-related diseases have been reported, which are attributed to poor handling and storage of drinking water. The most common issues include dysentery, typhoid, stomachaches and cholera.

Sanitation Situation

The school sanitation situation also needs to be addressed as soon as possible. The school has a total number of 20 latrines, out of which six pits are almost full, leaving only 14 usable doors. Nine of these doors are for the boys and eight are for the girls, two doors for teachers and one door for support staff. Many students report urinary tract infections due to poor hygienic conditions.

The school has constructed two temporary hand-washing facilities that are used by staff. There are no hand-washing opportunities for students.

Garbage is deposited in a compost pit within the compound as seen in the pictures, though the pit is full and has started spilling over.

The school also has no drainage system, so the environment is often impassable after heavy rains.

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training and Hand-Washing Stations

Training will be held for three 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. This CTC club will oversee the new facilities, such as the hand-washing stations, and make sure they are kept clean and in working condition.

Plans: Rainwater Catchment Tank

A 30,000-liter rainwater catchment tank will be constructed on school grounds. Teachers, students, and parents will gather the local materials needed for this project, including sand, ballast, bricks, and hardcore. This contribution will fuel a sense of responsibility for the school and community to take care of their new facilities. Once materials are mobilized, the WEWASAFO team will arrive to lead the construction effort.

Plans: VIP Latrines

Two triple-door latrines will be constructed, providing three new latrines for each gender. Latrine materials will be mobilized the same way as the tank, ensuring the school feels these facilities are truly theirs.

Shieywe Secondary School believes that increased access to safe water will not only improve their sanitation and hygiene standards, but will also encourage improvement in overall academic performance.

The school will also save immense amounts of money that were previously wasted on buying water.

Project Updates


December, 2017: A Year Later: Shieywe Secondary School

A year ago, generous donors helped build a rainwater catchment tank and latrines for the Shieywe Secondary School in Western Kenya. Because of these gifts and the contributions of our monthly donors, partners are able to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the actual water project. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – we’re excited to share this one from our partner, Jemmimah Khasoha, with you.




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!


A Year Later: Shieywe Secondary School

December, 2017

Life has changed greatly in that the school is so neat, water is available at specific and convenient points which makes it easy to access by students, non-teaching staff, and even visitors who visit the school.

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Shieywe Secondary School.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Shieywe Secondary School maintain access to safe, reliable water. Together, they keep The Water Promise.

We’re confident you'll love joining this world-changing group committed to sustainability!

A year ago, generous donors helped build a rainwater catchment tank and latrines for the Shieywe Secondary School in Western Kenya. Because of these gifts and the contributions of our monthly donors, partners are able to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the actual water project. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – we’re excited to share this one from our partner, Jemmimah Khasoha, with you.

The ongoing survival of many schools in Kenya is threatened if they are not able to provide water and sanitary facilities for the schools, yet it is difficult for parents to pay these expenses in addition to usual school fees.  The Water Project and WEWASAFO have targeted schools just like this because of the potential that can be unlocked for both students and staff when clean water and sanitation is available.


As an employee of WEWASAFO, Jemmimah was excited to see the maintenance of the facilities that were constructed for the school. She reports, "The toilets are cleaned on a daily basis and have been well painted to increase beauty. This is after the training on management and maintenance of the training which was done during the CTC (Child to Child training). The school also has a compost pit which is well fenced and litter is well disposed. The general compound is clean for it is fenced well with live fence which is pruned in a way that it does not make the school busy but greener. The hand washing stations are strategically fixed to enable easy usage and thus convenient with good drainage. All these changes have been brought by The Water Project for the provision of the facilities and the CTC training facilitated by the training officer." All of these elements are integral to the success of the project and the improved well-being of teachers and students in the school. Harrison Harambee, a patron of the CTC club, confirms that the biggest changes that he has witnessed are the clean environment throughout the school and the improved health of the students.

One of the students, Flavian Mukoshi, age 17, shares a very specific impact that the project has had on his life: "My life has changed because I previously visited the hospital more frequently because of allergy caused by dust. It also made me have flu for we did not clean our classrooms on a daily basis. Since the inception of these project, I am a proud student for I am able to learn in a clean classroom where we mop every week because there's plenty of water in the school."

Mr. Harrison Harambee and his student Flavian Mukoshi.

Access to water and sanitation facilities produces ripples throughout the lives of the students and their families. Students are able to devote more time to studies since they are not required to spend hours fetching water and resources paying medical expenses. We are excited to stay in touch with this community and to report the impact in the lives of the students Shieywe Secondary School and the surrounding community as they continue on their journey with clean water.


The Water Project and our partners are committed to consistent monitoring of each water source. Our monitoring and evaluation program, made possible by monthly donors, allows us to visit communities up to 4 times a year. Read more about our program and how you can help.


Navigating through intense dry spells, performing preventative maintenance, conducting quality repairs when needed and continuing to assist community leaders to manage water points are all normal parts of keeping projects sustainable. The Water Promise community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Shieywe Secondary School maintain access to safe, reliable water.

We’d love for you to join this world-changing group committed to sustainability.

The most impactful way to continue your support of Shieywe Secondary School – and hundreds of other places just like this – is by joining our community of monthly givers.

Your monthly giving will help provide clean water, every month... keeping The Water Promise.