{"id":248359,"date":"2026-06-17T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/?p=248359"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:05:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:05:20","slug":"childhood-stolen-in-jerrycans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/community\/2026\/06\/17\/childhood-stolen-in-jerrycans\/","title":{"rendered":"Childhood Stolen in Jerrycans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Arriving at the School<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, May 28th, 2026, I arrived at the office early in the morning, prepared my tools for fieldwork, and left in our car headed to Lukokhko Primary School in Malava, Kenya. It took me around one and a half hours to reach the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On arrival, I found a school that had neither a fence nor a gate. Because the school had no gate, we did not have to clear with a security officer to enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside one of the classes stood two teachers who were eager to know who we were and why we had come. After reading the writing on our vehicle, they looked happy and approached us smiling. The smiles on their faces expressed hope and an end to the suffering caused by the lack of water in the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Outdoor classroom<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Learning Under a Tree<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We exited the vehicle, and after a quick glance round the school, I spotted little children learning under a tree! Oh my goodness! In this era, do we still have schools where learners study under a tree?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This took me back to my school days about thirty years ago, when we used to learn under a tree. It was not a good experience, and as a mother, I felt so sad. The closer I moved, the more sympathetic I became. Generally, the compound was dusty, bare and full of rocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Learning under a tree<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Question Met With Silence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no office in the school, the two teachers who had been so happy to receive us had nowhere to host us. Later on, I learned that one of them was the head teacher in charge of the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He ushered us into one of the classrooms, where we were made to sit in front of the class and have our discussion from there. He took us through the history of the school, and as all this was happening, I was trying to imagine what a full day in that school looked like. That prompted me to interrupt his explanation by inquiring where they fetched water for school use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question looked heavy to him, and for a moment he went silent. The silence was so loud, and it said a great deal. His smile faded immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of responding to the question, he opted to invite the teacher in charge of health and sanitation. His instructions to the teacher were, “Please, take our visitors to where we usually fetch our water so that they can see for themselves. Remember to go with some learners so that they can fetch water for cooking in the kitchen.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Collecting water from a contaminated stream<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Walk to the Stream<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the company of the teacher and the students, we set off. The pupils ran fast down a steep slope to a passing stream about half a kilometer away. As I took each step, I kept asking myself whether this was what these pupils had to go through every day, every week, every month and every term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The water was dirty and open to all kinds of contamination. This made me more frustrated. I imagined the time wasted fetching water, the waterborne diseases contracted, and the chance of the stream sweeping pupils away when it flooded. I was sad and troubled. Is it really fair for such young, innocent souls to suffer this much in search of clean water?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Walking back to school with dirty water<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Water for the School Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I walked with the girls from the stream back to school. On the way, some looked so tired, others were exhausted and unable to keep up, while others walked briskly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we reached the school, the cook was anxiously waiting for the water to wash the utensils, prepare lunch for the school, and provide some for the pre-primary children to wash their hands before they took their porridge. The water was poured into one basin, and the young ones were asked to queue and wash their hands one after the other in the same pool of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innocently, they followed the instructions, not knowing that they were being exposed to contamination. It was evident that this school lacked knowledge of good hygiene practices. This made me feel devastated, and I felt pity for them. Why has fate made this child go through all this in pursuit of education?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point, I was convinced that education in this school was not meant to improve life but rather to expose the children to health hazards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Washing their hands in the water they collected<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Still, They Smile<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the many challenges, the pupils in this school could still afford a smile. They could play football, recite a poem and even sing songs in the local Luhya language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The children playing and drinking water<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Education gives hope for a brighter future, but education in a school with an adequate supply of water guarantees that future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we drove away from Lukokhko Primary School, I carried those smiles with me, and I could not stop thinking of all these children could become if clean water were within their reach. Their resilience is not a reason to look away, but a reason to act. No child should have to trade their health, their learning, or their childhood for a jerrycan of dirty water. Together with this community, we are determined to change that story, so that the next time someone asks where the school finds its water, the question is met not with silence, but with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Jackie’s Field Notes” written by<\/em> Jackie Chelagat<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impact Communications Officer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Water Project<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out other blogs by Jackie:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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World Water Day: Where Water Flows, Equality Grows<\/a><\/blockquote>