Project Status



Project Type:  Rainwater Catchment

Regional Program: Southeastern Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 392 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jan 2018

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 08/14/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is a part of our shared program with Africa Sand Dam Foundation. Our team is pleased to directly share the below report (edited for clarity, as needed).

Welcome to the School

Kwa Kaleli Primary School has enjoyed a long, close relationship with Twone mbee Muselele Self-Help Group, which has been working with ASDF since 2014. Members of Twone mbee Muselele SHG are parents of many students at the school, and are well aware of the dire water situation and the needs at the learning facility. It is for this reason that they proposed the construction of a water tank to help alleviate the suffering that their children go through. The school's affiliation with this group and the alarming water scarcity that pupils face are the prime reasons why Kwa Kaleli Primary School was approved for a water project.

Water Situation

The school has five plastic water tanks with capacities of 10,000 liters each, and one 5,000-liter tank. This gives them the ability to catch a total of 55,000 liters of rainwater, which can last a little over a month if strictly rationed. However, they're lucky to receive two rains a year!

Thus, parents are required to deliver water to the school in order to help meet the students' needs. They must bring at least 200 liters per term to meet cooking, cleaning, and drinking needs.

The school also relies on grants from politicians to get enough water; they received a truckload of water recently to fill their plastic tanks.

There is an earth dam some 200 meters away, where students are often sent to fetch extra water for mopping classrooms, cleaning latrines, and watering trees on school grounds.

14-year-old student Shadrack Kioko told us, "Sometimes there has been student complaints of waterborne diseases because of drinking water from untrusted sources, as we are not provided with drinking water in school. After meals, we are also not provided with water for washing utensils which has resulted in some students using water from the earth dam."

Sanitation Situation

The school has eleven pit latrines that are in fairly new condition for the most part. There are three for female students and four for teachers, of which all are in good shape. The boys' latrines are beginning to run down, but they are still better than what we see in most other places. Since all of these latrines are usable, open defecation isn't an issue on school grounds.

There are no hand-washing stations for either students or teachers.

Since there is a feeding program at this school, the conditions in the kitchen are also very important. Unfortunately, we found the kitchen in very poor shape; its walls are collapsing and it's actually dangerous for the cook to be in there!

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Students and staff will be trained for one day. Those in attendance will form a school health club that will promote good hygiene and sanitation practices both at school and home. They will learn all of the steps to proper hand-washing, how to treat water, and how to keep their environment clean. The school will also be taught how to best oversee and maintain their new rainwater catchment tank and hand-washing stations.

Plans: Hand-Washing Stations

Three hand-washing stations will be delivered at the project’s completion. These are 1,000-liter plastic tanks fitted with four taps. The health club and school management will be responsible for making sure tanks are filled with water and that a cleaning agent such as soap or ash is available.

Plans: Rainwater Catchment Tank

We will build a 104,000-liter rainwater catchment tank for this school. This water will benefit the students, teachers, and supplementary staff. Parents will mobilize the materials needed for construction, such as sand and stone. They will also lend some strong arms to help with the actual construction.

The huge capacity of this tank makes the others look tiny in comparison; 104,000 liters should be enough water to carry students through the entire dry season. As soon as the tank has time to cure, it can begin collecting rainwater for drinking, cooking and cleaning!

Project Updates


November, 2018: A Year Later: Kwa Kaleli Primary School

A year ago, your generous donation helped us construct a rainwater catchment tank for Kwa Kaleli Primary 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...




January, 2018: Kwa Kaleli Primary School Project Complete

Kwa Kaleli Primary School in Kenya now has a new source of safe, clean water thanks to your support: A new rainwater catchment system has been built. Hand-washing stations are on the way (we'll reach out again when we have pictures), and students and staff have received training in sanitation and hygiene. Just imagine the difference these resources will make in the lives of these students and teachers! 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.

We also just updated the project page with new pictures, so make sure to check them out! The report below shares the latest details of the project.

Project Result: New Knowledge

Hygiene and sanitation training was rolled out to all of the school's teachers and pupils under the shade of a tree in the school compound.

The trainer led sessions on proper food handling, preparation, and storage. Similar sessions on water were even more important, teaching how to safely fetch, carry, store, and treat water. We also covered topics including:

– Importance of using a pit latrine

– Prevention of diarrhea

– Proper handling of food and water

– Hand-washing

– Flies and other spreaders of germs

– Personal hygiene (washing face and brushing teeth)

Students particularly enjoyed the demonstrations, role plays, and group discussions.

A little boy makes sure his classmate gets enough soap!

By the last day of training, a student health club was established to carry out the following objectives:

– Teaching other students about hygiene and sanitation

– Ensuring the latrines and school compound are always clean

– Ensuring that students always wash their hands with clean water and soap after visiting the latrine, and ensuring these hand-washing stations have clean water and cleaning agents at all times

Staff met with a randomly picked student and teacher after training to get their impressions. Teacher Patrick Muthuva said, "The training was good because the teachers and students fully participated. By the end, we had learned about hand-washing, personal hygiene, compound hygiene, water hygiene, and latrine hygiene." Student Shadrack Kioko added, "It will help us improve our hygiene as students, and this will lead to improved performance in our school. We have also known the importance of hand-washing. We say thank you!"

Project Result: Hand-Washing Stations

Large, multi-tap hand-washing stations are scheduled to be delivered at the end of this month. We will share pictures as soon as we have them!

Project Result: Rainwater Catchment Tank

Kwa Kaleli Primary School is affiliated with the Twone Mbee Muselele Self-Help Group, since most of its members’ children attend here. These parents and school administration approached the self-help group committee and requested their help in alleviating the water shortage at the school. A meeting with all of the parents and the headteacher was then held to plan out the project. Parents agreed to collect construction materials like sand, rocks, and water. They also worked hard alongside our artisans.

Dozens of parents came to help with tank construction.

Construction for this 104,000-liter rainwater catchment tank is much like the construction of a concrete house. First, the ground is leveled for foundation excavation. Alternating layers of impermeable rocks are laid upon mortar up to seven feet high, with internal and external diameters of 25 and 28 feet respectively.

A reinforced concrete column is built right up the center of the tank, which holds up the roof and prevents it from caving in. The walls are then plastered both internally and externally with waterproof cement. After that, several feet of guttering is installed and channeled into the tank.

Installing the gutters

Once the tank has cured (dried) sufficiently, it can begin to collect rainwater. Students were excited to return from holiday break and have clean water in their tank! They wasted no time fetching their first cups of clean water. Shadrack Kioko said, "Wow! The tank is very big and beautiful! We will no longer carry water when coming to school. We will have clean water for drinking."




November, 2017: Kwa Kaleli Primary School Project Underway

Kwa Kaleli Primary School in Kenya will soon have a new source of safe, clean water thanks to your donation. A rainwater catchment tank is being built, hand-washing stations are being 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.

Thank You for your generosity that is unlocking potential for students in Kenya!




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: Kwa Kaleli Primary School

November, 2018

“We are provided with enough clean drinking water in school, which has led to increased concentration in class and working hard to improve on academic performance.” – Aron Muthini

Keeping The Water Promise

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

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Kwa Kaleli Primary 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, your generous donation helped us construct a rainwater catchment tank for Kwa Kaleli Primary 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 – and we’re excited to share this one from Titus Mbithi with you.


The school children and their teachers now enjoy a nearby, clean water source for drinking and cooking. The children have not carried water to school for the last year, unlike the many years prior. The water tank constructed at the school holds enough clean water for the entire school population.

From left to right: Senior Teacher Sammy, Aron Muthini, and Titus Mbithi

We talked to Senior Teacher Lilian Sammy and her student, Aron Muthini, about some of the other changes they have seen over the past year.

"Cases of absenteeism have significantly gone down as pupils enjoy walking to school without carrying water containers, which were a burden to them," said Mrs. Sammy.

"Levels of hygiene and sanitation have also improved, with our children embracing the concepts taught in the hygiene training by washing their hands after visiting latrines and before meals."

Senior Teacher Lilian Sammy

Construction of the rainwater catchment tank is only one step along the journey toward sustainable access to clean water. The Water Project is committed to consistent monitoring of each water source. Our monitoring and evaluation program, made possible by donors like you, allows us to maintain our relationships with communities by visiting up to 4 times each year to ensure that the water points are safe and reliable.

This is just one of the many ways that we monitor projects and communicate with you. Additionally, you can always check the functionality status and our project map to see how all of our water points are performing, based on our consistent monitoring data.

One project is just a drop in the bucket towards ending the global water crisis, but the ripple effects of this project are truly astounding. This tank at Kwa Kaleli Primary is changing many lives.

Mrs. Sammy and Aron filling glasses of water at the tank.

"I am no longer required to carry water to school in a 5-liter container like it used to be the case before construction of this tank. This has made my journey to school an easy and enjoyable one with minimal burden," shared 11-year-old Aron.

"We are provided with enough clean drinking water in school, which has led to increased concentration in class and working hard to improve on academic performance."

With enough clean drinking water, students can do what they're meant to do.

This is only possible because of the web of support and trust built between The Water Project, our local teams, the community, and you. We are excited to stay in touch with this community and support their journey with safe water.

Read more about The Water Promise 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 Kwa Kaleli Primary 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 Kwa Kaleli Primary 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 - The Lifeplus Foundation