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
Maganyi Primary School was founded in 1987 by community members who fundraised for the land. The school is located at Maganyi Village of Vihiga County, Kenya. The school has a population of 218 students and 11 teachers. The school also employs one cook and one security guard.
A normal day begins early in the morning when parents wake up and prepare for work on their farms and children prepare for school. Classes for the pupils begin at 7 am, beginning with study hall. There's assembly at 8 am when teachers make announcements for each day, after which regular lessons begin at 8:15 am and stretch to 4:15 pm, including breaks. Finally, the students end the day with games until 5 pm when they return to their homes.
Teachers are responsible for teaching various subjects ranging from science, social studies, maths to languages. Pupils attend lessons, play in the field, and clean the compound and their classrooms. This school is situated in a very quiet environment that has electricity and a good road network that provides easy accessibility.
Headteacher Benedict Senelwa narrated an incident whereby he himself had to intervene on behalf of the school and its right to water. He stepped in to address how the community was harassing pupils who go to fetch the water from the nearby spring. To him, the big challenge was that villagers were demanding that they had the right to fill their containers with water before the students, making students get in the back of the line again.
"We had to hold a public meeting which included all stakeholders of the village to try and air out our complaints so as to have a solution on this matter once and for all. The presence of our area chief had a lot of impact, as every attendee was given an opportunity to say a word which could help eliminate the problem. When I stood to explain my reason of calling such a meeting, the whole process was full of emotions as many of those who attended the meeting felt the kind of harassment and torture that the pupils go through as they try to get the water. After the meeting, it was agreed that the pupils will always be given the first priority to fetch water and save on their time of studies," shared the headteacher.
During our baseline visit, one of the village elders stopped us and told the headteacher that he himself has taken initiative to ensure that no one would ever harass the pupils while trying to fetch water. He further said that he will be escorting the pupils to the spring whenever he is around to ensure they get the water within the shortest time possible!
Though the school is blessed with Life Straw containers, the challenge of accessing safe water remains unsolved. The containers are only meant for purification of water, but not storage. Whether or not he community is welcoming, students still have to sacrifice valuable study time to make those frequent trips to the spring.
There are seven latrines on school grounds that are all in fairly good condition. With a student population of over 200, that puts the number of students using one latrine at over 30. The concrete has held up well, and most of them still have their doors. The only shortcoming is that there isn't enough water to keep latrines as clean as they should be.
There is one hand-washing station for the students to use after they use those latrines.
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. Three doors will serve the girls while the other three serve the boys. 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 (students have already started helping). 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!