Project Status



Project Type:  Rainwater Catchment

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 155 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jan 2017

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 12/06/2024

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

St. Stephen Eshihaka Secondary School is a new school in Mushikori Village, having opened in 2013. It has a total enrollment of 140 students and employs nine teachers and six supplementary staff.

Students arrive at school around 6:30AM to clean classrooms, latrines, and pick up trash outside. Normal classes start at 8AM.

The headteacher heard about water, sanitation and hygiene projects through peers at Lusengeli Secondary School. Soon after seeing it for himself, the headteacher sent in an application to our office.

Water Situation

The primary school in the village has a well, but not this secondary school. The well is hand-dug and is approximately one kilometer away from St. Stephen. Students can also venture to a spring that is also one kilometer away from their school. The trips to and from the water sources significantly cut into valuable class time. While some classes focus on cleaning the school facilities, others are sent on trips to the water sources.

While there's good water at these sources, they are both too far away from St. Stephen. It is likely that water becomes contaminated on the long trip back to school. Once the full 20-liter jerrycans are lugged back to school, they are kept near the office until used up and ready for another trip.

After drinking water that has been fetched and stored improperly, students and staff suffer from typhoid, cholera, bilharzia, diarrhea, and stomachaches. Students miss class to stay home and recover. Teacher Wellington Okulia said "The search for water and long lines at the primary section have made many students not join the school. Parents are not willing to bring their children to the school, fearing poor performance and great risk of poor health."

Sanitation Situation

Not only does the school lack its own water source, but it doesn't have enough of its own facilities. It doesn't have a kitchen and thus borrows space from the neighboring church. When the church has an event, there are conflicts. The school doesn't have nearly enough latrines for girls, and they suffer unhygienic conditions that cause infections.

Since this secondary school is still fairly new, it hasn't been able to add facilities since its opening. There are only six latrines, all used for students and teachers alike. Different classes of students are assigned latrine cleaning duty each morning. Though regularly cleaned, the latrines are already in bad condition. The hinges on the doors have broken off and cannot provide privacy.

There are three hand-washing stations outside of the latrines, but they do not have a cleaning agent available. There is a garbage pit at the back of the school compound that helps consolidate waste and keep the environment clean.

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Parents, teachers, and students will be trained for two days of sessions on hygiene and sanitation.

This training is meant to equip participants with the skills needed to practice good hygiene, and to promote these practices among peers and the greater community. The end goal is to eliminate water and hygiene-related diseases!

The facilitator plans to use PHAST (Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Training), CTC (child to child), discussions, lectures, and demonstrations to teach topics including but not limited to disease transmission, hand-washing, and water treatment. After our initial assessment of conditions, our facilitator also plans to strongly emphasize proper water handling and storage. The CTC method will prepare students to lead other students into healthy habits, as well as kickstart a CTC club for the school.

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 (Which they’ve already started doing!). 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. Once construction wraps up, the tank will begin collecting valuable rainwater that will be disinfected with chlorine; water that is safe for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and everything else students need!

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. And with a rainwater catchment tank nearby, there will be enough water to keep them clean.

Plans: Hand-Washing Stations

Two hand-washing stations will be delivered to the school before training, supplementing the existing stations. These come in the form of two 60-liter containers fitted with a tap. The training facilitator will demonstrate how to properly wash hands, and then students will have a chance to practice in groups. The CTC club will be responsible for filling the hand-washing containers on a daily basis and seeing that there's enough cleaning agent. They will be able to follow through with this thanks to the water tank on school grounds!

The actions described above will give students an environment that is conducive to learning. It’ll free up so much time that was used going to and from the spring. This is an opportunity they deserve!

Project Updates


December, 2017: A Year Later: St. Stephen Eshihaka Secondary School

A year ago, generous donors helped build a rainwater catchment system and latrines for St. Stephen Eshihaka Secondary School in Western Kenya. Because of these gifts and contributions from our monthly donors, partners can 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 partners, Wilson Kipchoge and 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: St. Stephen Eshihaka Secondary School

December, 2017

Since the water project came to our school last year and brought us a big tank, I have so much time to study and even plan my work minus the stress of going to look for water for use in the school.

Keeping The Water Promise

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

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help St. Stephen Eshihaka 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 system and latrines for St. Stephen Eshihaka Secondary School in Western Kenya. Because of these gifts and contributions from our monthly donors, partners can 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 partners Wilson Kipchoge and Jemmimah Khasoha, with you.

The school compound is very clean, just from the gate through the classrooms and even the toilets. The students are very happy as they draw water from the tank during break time, lunch hours and during game time. Every Friday evening, the students clean the classes with plenty of water and detergents and this has greatly improved the sanitation and hygiene.

Time management has improved for there is no time wasted by students queuing for water at the primary section and this has really improved the performance of the students. The school has increased the total enrollment from 140 to a total of 162 for many students feared the burden of carrying water the time we had no tank.

The school had some issues with the gutters but because of monitoring, our team was able to work with the school to fix them. “The gutters were poorly fixed and we came to realize this late after suffering for some time,” explains Principal Christopher Okulia. “After Wewasafo staff paid us a visit, that is when we identified this challenge and so action was taken. Now, we have water and the school has the potential of growing as indicated in the enrollment of this year.”

“I do not carry water from home daily nor fetch from the primary section or the spring,” says 17-year-old student Brian Kisiani. “Since the water project came to our school last year and brought us a big tank, I have so much time to study and even plan my work minus the stress of going to look for water for use in the school. We have access to safe drinking water which is easily and efficiently available to all of us. As a school, we do not congest in the toilets for us to use, as we now have more toilets which we use without struggling and this saves time for us to go back to classes and study.”

The school is very much cooperative and so good when it comes to maintenance. The door hinges of the latrines and also the tap fixed initially to the tank are both still intact. No repair works so far has been experienced besides the gutters and this is a good encouragement for it shows how willing and committed they were with the project. It shows how needy they were and so they do not joke around with the facilities installed in their school. We will continue to work with this school and share their progress.

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, and this school is a great example of how monitoring makes a difference in our work. As with many schools in this region, access to water provides opportunity to attract and accept more students. However, the increased student population creates a need for more water and a chance to provide hygiene and sanitation training to more students and families. Because we heard about this situation, we are now making our tanks larger to provide more clean water.  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 St. Stephen Eshihaka 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 St. Stephen Eshihaka 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.


Contributors

Project Sponsor - Michael and Jane Weber