Rehabilitation Project
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 Community
AIC Mutulani Mixed Secondary School is perched atop the hills of Mutulani, 1,318 meters above sea level. The terrain around the school is hilly and slopes are steep. It is these steep slopes that the students scale on a daily basis on their way to and from school.
There are 350 students enrolled at AIC Mutulani Mixed Secondary, of which 165 are boys and 185 are girls. The school employs 18 teachers and nine supplementary staff.
Students report to school at 7 AM to do private studies until 8:05 AM when regular lessons begin. There are three lessons of 40 minutes each before the first break. There are two more lessons until 11:10 AM when students take a short break for tea, coffee or porridge. There are two more lessons until lunch at 1:10 PM. Students enjoy those 40 minutes for lunch before class starts again and stretches until 4 PM. There is time for games on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, clubs and societies on Wednesdays, and religious worship on Fridays.
School terms in Kenya run for three months back to back with April, August, November and December as holidays during which school is closed. (Editor's Note: Groups of threes sure do seem popular!)
This project was put forward by Ngao ya Kiome Self-Help Group, which works in the area to increase access to clean water. The majority of these group members have students attending AIC Mutulani.
Water Situation
In between breaks, students have to queue in order to get whatever water is available for drinking. There are two plastic reservoirs on school grounds that have the ability to catch rainwater, but they have small capacities of 1,500 liters and 10,000 liters. Students and staff use up a full tank quickly, so administration has to hire someone to spend the day fetching water. Once fetched, this water is dumped into the reservoirs.
The school bought a motorbike which is used solely for the purpose of fetching water for the entire school community. Though it helps transport water faster, most of the time is wasted waiting in line at the collection points. This in turn delays lunch preparation and affects the school program. The motorbike driver carries at least six 20-liter jerrycans at a time, totaling 120 liters each trip. He makes ten trips to get the school the 1,200 liters of water required by the school each day.
Water is fetched from a hand-dug well when the levels are adequate. When dry, he has to fetch water from scoop holes dug in the riverbed of Ngangani River. After drinking water from the scoop holes, students often remain home as they fight waterborne disease.
Sometimes students have to climb the steep hill to school carrying jerricans of their own drinking water to supplement what the school provides.
Sanitation Situation
There are five usable pit latrines on school grounds for these 350 students and staff. The one for teachers and the two for girls are in fairly good condition, but the ones for the boys are poorly constructed.
There is one hand-washing station with soap, mainly used by teachers.
Principal Peter Maliti told us, "Our current water source is a pipeline called Kweleli Water Project which often breaks down so that the water doesn't reach our school at all. The staff room, classes and the pit latrines aren't washed as often as they should so students resort to sprinkling water the classroom floors with water to contain the dust and make the rooms habitable. We have to ration the little water that the motorbike guy fetches because if we don't, there wont be enough for everyone. To ride 10 kilometers to the water source, we buy liters of petrol at 100 shillings a day so we spend 300 a day on fuel alone. When this source dries up, we all troop and depend on open water sources like Ngangani River which has many stagnant pools. This poses a challenge in terms of diseases to our students and cases of absenteeism due to illnesses rise."
Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training
Students and staff will be trained for one day. Those in attendance will form a hygiene 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 taps. The hygiene 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 105,000-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; 105,000 liters should collect enough water to carry students through the entire dry season. As soon as the tank has time to cure, it can begin to collect rainwater for drinking, cooking and cleaning!
Judith Mutunga is a 17-year-old student at the school. "Water scarcity affects our concentration in class and this affects our overall performance in school. We will be happy to have a tank because that will improve our health and performance. All the students will be sharp and clean," she shared.
