Project Status



Project Type:  Rainwater Catchment

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 318 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Nov 2017

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 11/08/2024

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

Evojo Secondary School was opened in 2014 by parents who couldn't afford to send their children away for school. The Community Development Fund supported them by building two classrooms, while the villagers donated money for students to get their uniforms.

Students report to Evojo Secondary School by 7am to start their morning study hall. Normal classes go until lunch at 1pm for 30 minutes of lunch served by the school cook. Math discussion groups and speed tests are for 30 minutes, and then another class until the 3pm trip for water. The school grounds, classrooms, and latrines are cleaned before extracurricular activities.

The people living in this neighborhood are mostly farmers who plant tea to sell to Mudete Tea Factory.

Water Situation

There is no water source on school grounds, so students have to leave to find water. They make the long walk to Mwabianga Spring, which is about one kilometer away.

Since this is a community water source, students have to wait for locals to fill their containers first. People living near the spring just wade into the water to fill their containers under the pipe, while students do their best not to get their uniforms wet - They bend down low to fetch water from above the discharge pipe.

Even if the water was clean at this point, there's still the long walk back to school. The containers are lidless and open to contamination on the way back and during storage. By the time the water's consumed, there's no guarantee it's safe. In fact, students often complain of diarrhea. Not to mention the backaches and exhaustion that result from carrying such heavy containers!

Sanitation Situation

There are three doors for boys and just two for girls. Girls used to have two others, but they collapsed. Since the school only has pit latrines for students, so teachers and staff have to walk to the primary school. All of the existing latrines were also paid for by the Community Development Fund.

Boys’ and girls’ pit latrines in this school have been built next to each other, which is against the rules of the ministry of education. The ministry gave them a warning to build latrines for one sex further away because they'll come in and board up the old ones. These latrines all smell because they lack ventilation - and because there's not enough water with which to clean them.

There aren't even any hand-washing stations for students to use after the latrine or before eating. This is probably another major reason why students are suffering from diarrhea so often.

Principal Eric Danga said, "We need sanitation facilities at this institution! As you can we see, we have a shortage of latrines and there is no source of water within the school compound. I am positive that if the facilities are brought to us, we shall improve in our academic performance. Please do not deny us that chance, we really need facilities."

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training and Hand-Washing Stations

Training will be held for two 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 hand-washing stations, and make sure they are kept clean and in working condition. The two hand-washing stations will be delivered to the school, and the club will fill them with water on a daily basis and make sure there is always a cleaning agent such as soap or ash.

Plans: VIP Latrines

Two triple-door latrines will be constructed with local materials that the school will help gather. Normally we give three doors to the girls while the other three serve boys, but it is likely administration will set them aside for girls so they no longer have to share with primary students. And with a new source of water on school grounds, students and staff should have enough to keep these new latrines clean.

Plans: Rainwater Catchment Tank

A 50,000-liter rainwater catchment tank will help alleviate the water crisis at this school. The school will also help gather the needed materials such as sand, rocks, and water from the spring for mixing cement. Once finished, this tank can begin catching rainfall that will be used by the school’s students and staff. Students will no longer be responsible to find enough water to carry to school every day.

We and the school strongly believe that with this assistance, standards will significantly improve. These higher standards will translate to better academic performance!

Project Updates


November, 2018: A Year Later: Evojo Secondary School

A year ago, your generous donation enabled us to construct a rainwater catchment tank for Evojo 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...




November, 2017: Evojo Secondary School Project Complete

Evojo 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 children!

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

The school principal organized for at least two students per grade to attend training so that they could learn and then teach their fellow students. She also asked the PTA chairman and some of the the teachers to attend. There ended up being 15 students, the chairman, one teacher, and the principal in attendance. Training had to be held outside since there were no classrooms available; students brought extra chairs out, and we provided notebooks and pens for taking notes.

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 trainer encourages a young lady as she recalls the 10 steps of hand-washing she just learned.

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.

PTA Chairman Reuben said, "The training has really taught me many things that I didn't know, but now I am aware. Especially on the maintenance side of the tank and the latrines, and also about the ten steps of hand-washing. On behalf of the students and others who are in the school, I want to say thank you very much."

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 even helped our artisans with their manual labor. School administration visited our artisans on a daily basis - even on weekends when school wasn't in session. They wanted to make sure that our staff was well-fed and comfortable. Students also put in a good effort by fetching water to help us mix cement after their classes were out for the day.

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.

Working on the tank foundation

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.

Parents came in to help our artisans with manual labor like plastering the tank's floors and wall.

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.

The artisan begins his work on the gutter system.

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 Evojo Secondary School. It already has some water in it!

The school administration and students are happy now that they have the projects in their school, and they promise to take care of them since they know the pain and struggle of not having enough. We gathered together to celebrate and witness clean water flowing from the tank for the first time. Principal Eric Danga said, "I am really thankful for this project being donated to us. The projects really came at the right time when we were in a lot of trouble with the government people who stand for health. They used to propose that the school be closed since we didn't have enough sanitation facilities, but now we have it and we are on the safe side!"




September, 2017: Evojo Secondary School Project Underway

Evojo 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.




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: Evojo Secondary School

November, 2018

Students no longer have to go out each day to fetch water for the school staff and kitchen, thanks to the rainwater tank on the school grounds.

Keeping The Water Promise

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

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Evojo 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, your generous donation enabled us to construct a rainwater catchment tank for Evojo 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 – and we’re excited to share this one from local team member Faith Muthama with you.

The school environment is clean, especially the classrooms and latrines. The students fetch water at the tank to use for cleaning the school in the evening before study hall and again first thing in the morning.

"Initially, we used to send the students to go and fetch water from the spring to bring some water into the school for cooking purposes," Teacher Bramuel Amudavi said.

Bramuel Amudavi

"Also, the students would fetch water for the staffroom for teachers to use. But now we get water from the rainwater harvesting tank that was constructed last year."

A lot of time was wasted fetching water, student Cynthia Avusha said to us during our recent visit to the school. She and her classmates had to spend time out of class to get water. Now they can concentrate more on their studies because they do not miss class to get water.

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 in Evojo Secondary School is changing many lives.

"Initially the boys' and girls' toilets were so close to each other that we had no privacy. And the girls toilets sank, which forced us to share the toilets with the boys," Cynthia said.

Cynthia Avusha

She would have to wait in line each time she wanted to use the bathroom. The construction of new latrines last year means she no longer has to wait and the girls have the privacy to use the facilities away from the boys.

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 Evojo 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 Evojo 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

Haug Family - in remembrance of Bob Haug
Scandinavians for Life
Xscion Solutions LLC
North Dunedin Baptist Church
In Memory of Giovanna Stark - Joyce and Walt Huff
6 individual donor(s)