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 School
Kithaasyu Secondary School was started in 2012 to serve the children of Kithaasyu Village, Makueni County of Kenya. It has a student enrollment of 204, who are taught by 13 teachers. The school also employs four support staff.
The school is affiliated with Masola Kaani Self-Help Group. By virtue of them being either parents or grandparents of pupils at the school, they clearly understand the water-related challenges faced on a daily basis. It is for this reason that they proposed construction of a rainwater catchment tank.
The school has a 5,000-liter plastic tank attached to a gutter system. Any rain stored in the tank is used up within five days, so the school has to look elsewhere to fill their tank.
Water is delivered by small trucks from Kinyambu Town or Kibwezi. These water vendors sell a 20-liter jerrycan for 20 shillings. Sometimes, students are send to Metava earth dam to fetch water, which is six kilometers away. With a daily use of more than 1,200 liters of water for drinking, cooking, washing offices and watering trees, the water situation at the school is dire.
17-year-old James Kimondiu told us that "walking six kilometers to Metava earth dam to fetch water has not been an easy task. It is tiresome and also deprives us of useful time which could otherwise be utilized in other class activities. The water is also not safe for drinking, and exposes us to potential health hazards."
18-year-old student Mary Ndumi is in form two, and dreams of being a lawyer someday. But right now, she is distracted by day to day concerns that chip away at her hope to achieve her dream. "There have been low levels of hygiene in school, as classes and latrines remain in unhealthy conditions which expose us to health risks. My wish is to be a boarder here and put more of my time in academic work, but this has been held back by the lack of clean water supply to facilitate boarding facilities," she shared.
There is one hand-washing station with soap, and a designated place to throw trash. However, a pit needs to be dug to keep trash from blowing around and littering school grounds.
Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training
Students and staff will be trained for one day. Those in attendance will form a school health 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 four taps. The health 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 104,000-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; 104,000 liters should be 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!