Clean Water & Sanitation for Kenyan Primary School

Greetings best wishes for 2017. It is our hope that you are energized for the New Year. We are also excited to start by reflecting on what we have achieved together for the past year. I wish to first extend a warm welcome to the new members and well-wishers to our platform.

Last year through your generosity we were able to assist Murichu Primary School in Murichu Location, Ndaragwa Division, Nyandarua North sub-County, Nyandarua County. The school has total population of 250 (120 girls, 121 boys and 9 teachers). Murichu Primary School’s WASH project was identified during a situational analysis carried out by KRA in collaboration with the partnering local communities.

 The findings of the participatory needs assessment proposed the following interventions:

ü  Increase sustainable water availability for drinking through construction of rainwater harvesting systems (roof catchment water storage tank (90m³);

ü  Improve sanitation and good hygiene practices in school through construction of gender-sensitive improved latrines  three blocks VIP for  boys , girls and teachers; and

ü  Build the capacity and increase knowledge of local communities on rainwater harvesting, improved water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

In my last update, I had reported that the tank and the girl’s latrine were ready for use, the boy’s block was underway and today am happy to report that its construction is complete and the whole project was commissioned at the beginning of this year in attendance were parents, local government administration staff, and representatives of Kenya Rainwater Association.   

The project constructed ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrine for girls, boy and the teachers and a masonry rainwater harvesting tank. The sanitation situation in the school was in pathetic condition, only one wooden latrine  was in use since the others were no longer in use as they were sinking, teachers and students were in extremely dire need of better latrines.

PROJECT IMPACTS

The project was implemented successfully and the significant impacts have been realized, and the pupils, teachers and parents cannot hide their appreciation. According to Mr. Gerald Karoki Kariuki, the head-teacher Murichu Primary School, the following are the changes already being experienced in the school:

a)      Reduced water borne diseases among the children leading to improved school attendance

b)      Increased water supply all year round for cleaning, drinking and cooking in the school leading to reduced water burden for the children

c)       Improved nutrition due to the increase vegetable production in the school through irrigation

d)      Improved performance as children are now able to concentrate on their studies instead of wasting time going to fetch water

e)      The new gender segregated pit latrines provide privacy especially for the girls hence reducing the rate of girl child drop outs in the school. Parents can now allow their children to go to school without fear of them falling into the pits

 I look forward to your continued collaboration and wish you the best for this year. As always, we welcome you to let us know how we can work together for sustained individual and collective impact in the WASH project for rural needy schools in Kenya. Until next time, let us keep the conversations going on our various online channels. 

THANK YOU