The kids kitchen: daily meals in the wake of Covid

Water sanitation and hygiene are the most pressing issues in Sierra Leone, with only 3% of the whole population having access to safe, clean water.  Access to safe water has a direct effect on schools, improves the children’s hygiene, and lowers the risk of infectious and water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea.

Background to WAF’s school and garden

To improve the children at WATF School’s nutritional status, daily school meals were introduced and a very successful school garden was set up to supply most of the food. However, the increasing lack of water through climate change has meant that gardeners had to spend up to six hours each day fetching water. The lack of clean water also affected the school in terms of health, sanitation and drinking water.

Clean Water helps to keep Covid at bay

The need for a source of clean water increased in urgency following the outbreak of Covid in 2020, when the need for regular handwashing and cleaning became even more important. To solve this it was decided to install a solar-run water tower. As well as improving school hygiene, this would increase the harvest from the garden, and improve sanitation and hygiene for the entire community.

Installing the Solar-run Water Tower

With your help, finance was raised, and the installation work began in the autumn of 2021. A 100-feet-deep borehole was drilled, and a 12-foot water tower was built. The solar power pump was then installed in early December. Finally the 5000-litre water tanks were installed. The whole process took only three months to complete.

Five core staff were then trained on how to use and maintain the water tower:  two people from the WAF school, two from neighbouring schools, and one person from the local community.

This has been an incredible achievement and when it is fully operational will improve many generations to come, by ensuring that the children are provided with healthy meals and a clean, safe environment.