Rehabilitation Project
This project is a part of our shared program with Western Water And Sanitation Forum. Our team is pleased to directly share the report below (edited for clarity, as needed).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Lubao Primary school was started in 1969 under the sponsorship of the Catholic Church. They saw the need to promote education with the nearby children. It is located in Lubao village, Lubao sub-location, Kambiri location, Isukha North Ward, Kakamega East Sub County in Kakamega County. The school has a total of 750 pupils, of which 339 are boys and 411 are girls including pupils in the ECD level. The school also has 27 teachers of which 6 are males and 21 females, and 4 support staff.
(Editor's Note: While this many people may have access on any given day, realistically a single water source can only support a population of 350-500 people. This community would be a good candidate for a second project in the future so adequate water is available. To learn more, click here.)
Justification
The school does not have adequate water for the students. They do have one small water tank, but this cannot hold enough to sustain the school during the dry seasons. When the tank runs out, children walk a distance of 2 kilometers to a protected spring to fetch water. Due to such movements, the pupils waste a lot of time resulting in poor performance. The borehole at the school, which was constructed by the KEFINCO program, was condemned due to the high level of contamination caused by the construction of pit latrines near by. The water is now not suitable for consumption. Contamination of the well resulted in a high rate of water borne diseases in the school, so the ministry of health had no choice but to condemn it.
The school is in dire need of sanitation since most of the latrines are collapsed and those that exist are in bad condition. Out of the 15 doors, 5 doors are for boys, 8 doors are for girls, and 2 are for teachers.
The school's sanitation situation is wanting as a door is serving on average 51 girls and 67 boys. This is far above the ratio recommended by the World Health Organization which states that 1 door should serve 25 girls and 1 door should serve 30 boys.
With regard to sanitation practices the school has no hand washing facilities so pupils do not wash their hands after toilet use.
Apart from sanitation, the school infrastructure is also wanting. The classrooms are old and not in good condition. The floors are cracked, resulting in a high jigger infestation. Jiggers are small sand fleas that bore into the hands and feet if not properly cleaned and protected.
When the school heard of WEWASAFO, they sent in their application letter requesting that they be considered for WASH facilities. When collecting baseline information in the school, the wash team was privileged to talk to parents who had attended the parents meeting. The parents were so happy and promised that they will avail the required locally available materials as soon as possible so that the project can commence immediately.
Results of the project:
Rainwater Harvesting Tank
Construction of the rain water harvesting tank in the school is complete and now in use.
The school now has safe water source in the school compound. The water point is safe and free from contamination as opposed to the previous situation where the borehole was contaminated as a result of seepage from constructed pit latrines nearby. Children no longer have to walk a distance of 2 kilometers to nearby protected spring to fetch water. The time saved has now been utilized productively by the pupils for studying. The school performance is therefore expected to improve. Girls are now motivated to attend school since they no longer carry the burden making several trips a day in search of water for use in the school. Girls have equal opportunity to compete with the boys in the school. Teachers are now sure of the safety of girls in the school. Cases of absenteeism in the school have greatly reduced as confirmed by the school chairperson.
VIP latrines
Construction of the 2 double doors VIP latrines are now complete and in use. Two doors are for the boys and the two doors are for the girls. The school now has a total of 19 sanitation facilities. 7 doors are for boys, 10 doors for girls and 2 for teachers.
The school’s sanitation situation is still a challenge as 1 door is serving an average of 44 girls and 49 boys. This is still far above the recommended ratio by the World Health Organization which states that 1 door should serve 25 girls and 1 door should serve 30 boys. But the new latrines bring progress, and the pupils are happy and comfortable to use the newly constructed sanitation facilities.
Hand washing facility
Two hand washing stations has been delivered and installed in the school. Since the two facilities are not enough to serve the entire school population, The CTC health club members were encouraged with Wewasafo wash staff to come up with improvised leaky tins (simple hand-washing stations) to improve the situation.
The pupils are now observing good hygiene practices, washing their hands at critical points, though not all the pupils are using the hand washing facilities all the time since most get tired of waiting for long queues to access the facility.
When conducting monitoring and evaluation, the wash team was privileged to meet with parents who were attending parents meeting in the school. The parents were so happy with the project and could not hide their joy. They promised to manage and maintain the facilities well so that they can serve their children’s children.
