By Katie Allan | Project Leader
Dear Kenya Rainwater Association supporters,
First of all, Happy New Year! We at KRA hope you had a great Christmas and a brilliant start to 2013! It has been a few months since our last update on the GlobalGiving/KRA water project at Matuiku Primary School and we have lots of news! On 24 November 2012, the second block of latrines and the cement water tank were officially opened and big celebrations were held at the school! Now with this tank and the donated plastic tank, the school has the capacity to store up to 60,000 litres of water – enough to last for at least a month!
As a new term begins, the pupils of Matuiku school can officially reduce their water-carrying burden. The KRA 50,000-litre capacity water tank has now been completed and is ready for action. Metal guttering now lines the roof of the school to catch the rainwater and the recent, unexpected rains in Kenya are filling up the tank nicely for the dry months ahead.
As part of the construction phase, a water point with two taps was also built six metres away from the tank. The children can fill up their water bottles and wash their hands there, rather than trekking to the river or carrying water in jerry-cans from home.
For those interested in the technical detail of the tank construction, here are a few words from our Technical Officer, Ronald Kamadi:
“The tank walls were constructed using dressed stones which were then plastered over to a thickness of 20mm with layers of barbed wire and chicken wire. A mortar mix of sand and cement was used for the wall plastering and to provide thick flooring on top of the concrete slab. The dome-shaped tank roof was constructed using timber, concrete and reinforced bars, held up by poles inside. The tank roof and outlet have lockable man-holes to carry out repairs. The guttering system enters the tank via a “foul-flash” self-cleaning system. This system ensures that when it first rains after a dry spell, the dust which builds up during dry periods is first flushed away and diverted from the storage tank to prevent contamination."
The children at the school are no longer scared to use the latrines! The new KRA latrines have provided reassurance to the children and their parents. The old latrines regularly collapsed due to the soil quality in the area and the weak structures. The head-teacher reported that at least three children had fallen into the pit due to this issue. Lining the pits with masonry prevents this problem and this is just what KRA has done!
Our Matuiku school project still remains active on GlobalGiving as we raise further funds and co-donors to support the final phase of the project – the construction of the 50,000-litre capacity farm pond and drip irrigation system for vegetables. A further block of latrines is also planned! We want to thank you – our loyal supporters, as well as our partner organisation in this project, H2O for Life.
All the best for the next few months and we will be in touch again with further updates!
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