November, 2018: A Year Later: Tulon Secondary School

A year ago, your generous donation enabled us to construct a rainwater tank for Tulon Secondary School in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow our local teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories. Read more...

December, 2017: Tulon Secondary School Project Complete

Tulon Secondary School in Kenya now has a new source of safe, clean water thanks to your generous donation. A new rainwater catchment system has been built, and there are now six new latrines being used. Two hand-washing stations have been installed, and students have received training in sanitation and hygiene. Just imagine the difference these resources will make in the lives of these young men and women!

You made it happen, now help keep the water flowing! Join our team of monthly donors and help us maintain this rainwater catchment tank and many other projects.

The report below from our partner gives the latest details of the project. We also just updated the project page with new pictures.

Project Result: New Knowledge

Hygiene and sanitation training was held in the school computer lab. (Editor's Note: It might come as a surprise to see a computer lab in Kenya, but this is the kind of thing we see all the time! We've come across hospitals that have been running for years without clean water. Schools in Kenya can access government funding for their classrooms, computer technology, vehicles, and many other things, but the government does not subsidize water infrastructure.) The computer lab was most convenient because all of the other classrooms were being used for midterm exams.

Principal Yego recruited the student leaders who attended training, pulling both male and female students from each grade. These student leaders will be supported by teachers whose aim is to spread the hygiene and sanitation messages they've learned.

Students received new notebooks and pens to record everything they learned.

We taught an entire lesson on management and maintenance of the new tank and latrine facilities. Regular checking and cleaning of the gutter system is a must! It’s also important to treat the water while it is still in the tank. We also covered topics including but not limited to:

– Water pollution and water treatment

– Personal and environmental hygiene

– Group dynamics, leadership, and governance

– Forming an effective CTC (child to child) club

– Hand-washing

Demonstrations were used for hand-washing, tooth-brushing, solar disinfection, and many other topics. We facilitated group discussions and presentations, and students took part in role-plays. The students also received handouts which will help them teach hygiene and sanitation to their peers.

The CTC club will include both students and teachers who want to take responsibility for spreading the message of good health and hygiene among their peers. They will also be responsible for managing hand-washing stations, cleaning latrines, and keeping the school environment tidy. A water user committee has also been formed by parents and school administration, which will be responsible for overseeing and maintaining the new facilities. And since the tank was finished by the time we held training, we could take everyone to see exactly what we were talking about when it comes to caring for their new water source.

14-year-old Faith Jepkemboi said, "I am so much happy to have been chosen as one of the trainees in this very informative training. I promise to share whatever ideas I have learned today with my classmates and siblings at home."

There are so many other amazing things that happen during our relationships with schools and communities, and often they're not even water-related. We were moved to hear that during the project here at Tulon, one of the field officers heard about a young man who hadn't been able to attend school since the end of the third quarter. Though his parents had paid 4,000 shillings to enroll him at the school, his remaining balance was 28,000 shillings. The officer immediately contributed 10,000 shillings of to go toward the boy's education, and asked the school accountant to clear the rest of his balance. Amazingly, the school showed grace and forgot his remaining debt of 14,000 shillings. He's now back in school, speechless, and has promised to work harder than ever to earn the highest grades in his class!

Project Result: VIP Latrines

This project funded the installation of six new VIP (ventilated improved pit) latrines. All of these latrines are easy to use and clean. And with a rainwater catchment tank, there should be enough water to keep them clean all the time!

Project Result: Hand-Washing Stations

The two hand-washing stations were delivered to school and handed over to the CTC club. These have been placed outside of the boys' and girls' latrines to encourage hand-washing after latrine use. CTC club members will teach other students how to properly wash their hands at these stations, and will make sure there is always soap or ash available. Now the school has the stations they need, and they have the water to fill them.

Project Result: Rainwater Catchment Tank

Construction for this 50,000-liter rainwater catchment tank was successful!

Parents, staff, and students helped our artisans gather everything needed for construction. All the while, women cooked meals for the artisans, and the school provided accommodations for the artisans during their work. Some local men and women even helped our artisans with their manual labor.

The process officially began with our staff and school administration moving around the school compound to try and determine the best location for a new rainwater catchment tank. This needed to be the best site with good, clean roofing to catch the rainwater.

Rainwater tank construction began with clearance of the site: excavating the soil within the required measurements to make level ground for the tank foundation. The foundation was cast by laying hardcore on a level ground and then reinforcing it using steel, concrete and waterproof cement.

Iron grid functions as the concrete wall's frame.

As the foundation was being lain, both the drawing pipe as well as the washout pipe were affixed. The wall was built with ferro-cement techniques through six layers. The inner wall was plastered while rough casting was done on the outer part.

After the superstructure had been given enough time to settle, the dome construction followed. The manhole cover was fitted, inlet pipes were connected to the roof gutters, inlet screens, ventilation pipes (breathers) and overflow pipes were all done to standards.

Finally, the catchment area was dug, plastered, and a staircase installed. Drainage was set up there, and then the tank was allowed three to four weeks to undergo complete curing before it was cleaned and handed over to Tulon Secondary School. It already has some water in it!

There were a few challenges along the way. Heavy rains could start as early as 6am in the morning and stretch until lunchtime. It would sometimes come on and off through the afternoon, too. This really slowed down our artisans' progress. Secondly, the school is very far away from our main office, and the officer in charge of this project sometimes had to stay overnight in a nearby town. Thanks to the dedication of everyone involved, Tulon Secondary School now has a clean water resource of their own.

School accountant Edwin Bitok said, "You people have really helped a lot in solving our water issue. This big water tank is going to assist us in storage of water during the rainy season."

November, 2017: Tulon Secondary School Project Underway

Tulon Secondary School in Kenya has begun building a new source of safe, clean water because of your generous donation. A rainwater catchment tank and new latrines are being constructed, hand-washing stations provided, and the school is being trained on proper sanitation and hygiene practices. Imagine the impact this will have on these students! Thank you for noticing the need here, and we’ll keep you posted as the work continues. But for now, please enjoy the new stories, pictures, and maps of this school.

Thank You for partnering with us to unlock the potential of these young students!