Rehabilitation Project
Al-Muhajireen Islamic Secondary School has 415 students and 14 teachers and staff who go through every day without safe, sufficient water. They either collect water from a distant well, which requires crossing a busy highway or use swamp water.
The swamp provides contaminated water.
This relatively new school opened in 2005. It started as one classroom and has experienced exponential growth in the past eighteen years. Though the school is well respected, students and teachers alike struggle to access water every day.
Class in session.
"These staff are passionate about the teaching profession which is why most parents within the community have sent their children to attend this school. Even the number of staff in the school has increased," shared Field Officer Julius Sesay.
Excellent teachers and dedicated students are a recipe for success. However, their water crisis is consuming their time and negatively impacting their health, impeding any educational progress.
"Diarrhea and typhoid are the common diseases that are affecting water users, more especially the students. Since the distance from the school to the well is far most of them will prefer to fetch water for drinking at the swamp. The water from this source is highly contaminated. Using this water to drink has resulted in a negative health impact on the lives of both the students and the teachers," Julius shared.
The only safe water to consume is from the distant well, which requires children to cross a dangerous highway.
"Crossing the highway to fetch water from the well that is situated next to the mosque is risky. Students find it difficult to cross the busy road after fetching water. They will stand for some time waiting for non-stationary vehicles and bikes to pass. The drivers will not even be patient to slow down for these children to cross. Some children in this community and a few students in the school have experienced accidents while attempting to cross. Some were fortunate to survive, but others are now history. Also, the long walking distance from the water points to the school makes students to be tired. It even makes some of their shoes and slippers they wear to school to be easily worn out," Julius expressed.
Fifteen-year-old Zainab is a student at Al-Muhajireen Islamic Secondary School who bravely shared how hard her day-to-day experience is related to water.
Zainab collecting water.
"Now, our teachers send us to fetch water from either the water well at the mosque or the swamp. This is a challenge looking at the distance to these waterpoints. It makes students leave classes and go in search of water. This alone disrupts our learning. Equally, the teachers, on some occasions, must leave the school grounds to fetch water for their use at the school. Some teachers will fetch water and fill the ablution kettle that they used to hold ablution in school when it’s time for prayers. Some of them even used these kettles to use the latrine. All these tasks are difficult for them to accomplish because there is no access to safe and reliable water on the school grounds," shared Zainab.
Zainab collecting water at the swamp.
"Life has been unbearable for the school ever since the well got faulty. Imagine the entire population of the school being deprived of having access to safe drinking water. It is really a concern because the school cannot run effectively ever since the well got faulty. The organization that drilled the well had no system of monitoring in place and no system in place for the repair of any projects they drilled. They just drilled the well at the school, installed the pump, and left. Imagine that. The water situation affects us, the students, greatly."
Zainab is a determined student, just waiting for the opportunity to put all her energy into her education.
"I will use that time to be in class and practice some of the mathematics questions, mostly during lunchtime. My friends and I will be able to share ideas in relation to the lessons that were taught earlier in class," she said when asked what she would do with the time once spent collecting water.
Zainab and friends outside class.
We want to help Zainab have safe, easily accessible, and reliable water. A borehole well on her school's campus will achieve that goal so she can achieve hers!
"I want to be a nurse in the future, by rendering treatment to people in my community and even beyond. I [would] love to save lives," Zainab said.
Steps Toward a Solution
Our technical experts worked with the local community to identify the most effective solution to their water crisis. They decided to drill a borehole well, construct a platform for the well, and attach a hand pump.
Well
Abundant water often lies just beneath our feet. Aquifers—natural underground rivers—flow through layers of sediment and rock, offering a constant supply of safe water. A borehole well is drilled deep into the earth to access this naturally filtered and protected water. We penetrate meters, sometimes even hundreds of meters, of soil, silt, rock, and more to reach the water underground. Once found, we construct a platform for the well and attach a hand pump. The community gains a safe, enclosed water source capable of providing approximately five gallons of water per minute. Learn more here!
School Education & Ownership
Hygiene and sanitation training are integral to our water projects. Training is tailored to each school's specific needs and includes key topics such as proper water handling, improved hygiene practices, disease transmission prevention, and care of the new water point. To ensure lasting impact, we emphasize engagement by students, staff, and community members to maintain their new waterpoint and implement their new knowledge, which encourages a sense of ownership and responsibility.
Safe water and improved hygiene habits foster a healthier future for everyone in the school and surrounding community.
