March, 2023: Kinu Friends Primary School Well Complete!

We are excited to share that Kinu Friends Primary School in Kenya now has access to a new, safe, clean water source thanks to the completion of their new borehole well! Students and staff are already using the well’s flowing water, which will provide them with a reliable water source for all of their daily needs.

We also installed new latrines and hand-washing stations and trained students and staff on improved sanitation and hygiene practices. Together, these components will unlock the opportunity for these students to live better, healthier lives.

“Access to clean, safe water will help prevent waterborne illnesses such as typhoid, diarrhea, and cholera. Before the installation of the water point, we were prone to infections. Availability of clean, safe water will allow me to stay physically healthy as my health will never be compromised,” said 11-year-old Janes M.

“From today, my health will not be compromised, allowing me ample time in school thus improve in my academics.”

Teachers were just as excited as the students about the new well on campus.

“Most often, I get dehydrated, especially during the hot weather, and this has always impacted negatively on my health as I am not able to access clean, safe water. From today, I will be able to rehydrate my body by drinking clean, safe water,” said headteacher Mr. Odanga.

He continued: “Both teachers and students will have ample time in school as our health will no longer be compromised. Since we will be enjoying the availability of clean water directly in the school compound, cases of absenteeism, especially from the students, will drastically reduce as most avoid coming to school for fear of being requested to fetch water for school use. Hygiene standards will drastically improve. Our classrooms and latrines will be cleaned at all times. We will also enjoy sufficient water to wash our hands when need arises.”

How We Got the Water Flowing

Parents, staff, and students all contributed to this well’s success. After determining the best site for the well through a hydrogeological survey, we obtained approval and a license from the government to begin drilling.

To prepare, the school collected fine sand and water for cement-making. When everything was ready and the students went home from class for the weekend (drilling is very loud!), our drill team and staff arrived at the school to begin work.

Drilling commenced with excitement in the air. The team drove down a temporary casing to keep the walls from collapsing as the rig progressed. We continued drilling to reach a final depth of 78 meters with a final static water level of 9 meters.

The drilling process can take up to three consecutive days due to this region’s hard bedrock, so the drill team set up a camp where they could rest and refuel. The school’s kitchen staff and parents helped provide meals for the team, while the school provided a safe place for the artisans’ accommodations and materials.

Once we reached the required depth, the team replaced the temporary casing with a permanent version, then bailed out the dirty water at the bottom of the well. The workers installed pipes, flushed them, tested the well’s yield, and chlorinated the water.

After water treatment, we constructed a cement well pad to protect the well from any ground-level contaminants. Tiles are installed beneath the spout to protect the cement from the erosive force of the water.

We also included a short drainage channel to carry spilled water away from the pump and prevent standing water. A soak pit absorbs runoff at the end of the drainage channel, further eliminating any stagnant water.

When the well pad was dry, we installed a new stainless steel AfriDev handpump and sampled the water for a quality test. The results showed this water was safe for drinking!

We officially handed over the new borehole to the school.

Students and staff celebrated the presence of clean water on campus. The event was an excellent chance to acknowledge the school administration and students as the primary parties entrusted with the tools we have given and remind them of our continued support as they develop. Happiness, thanksgiving, and appreciation were the order of the day, flowing in all directions.

VIP Latrines

This project funded the installation of six new ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines. These new latrines have cement floors designed to be easy to use and clean, locking doors for safety and privacy, and vents to keep air flowing up and out through the roof. With a well right on school property, there should be enough water to keep them clean.

Handwashing Stations

We set up two handwashing stations outside the latrines and handed them over to the newly formed student health club. Health club members will teach other students how to wash their hands at the stations properly, fill the stations with water, and ensure that there is always a cleaning agent available.

New Knowledge

We scheduled hygiene and sanitation training with the school’s staff, who ensured that the training date would be convenient for pupils and teachers. Facilitators Rose and Samuel deployed to the site when the training day arrived to lead the event. Twenty students and teachers attended the training, held under a mango tree in the school courtyard.

Our training covered several topics, including personal hygiene, oral hygiene, the ten steps of handwashing, environmental hygiene, child rights, leadership, and operation and maintenance of the well and pump, latrines, and handwashing stations.

Students elected their peers to lead their student health club during the leadership session. Members will encourage good health and hygiene practices amongst their peers, teachers, and the community. By the end of the training, each pupil understood their role in sustaining clean water and good health within their school community.

We reviewed the ten steps to proper handwashing, which were familiar to the participants as most had been taken through them during the COVID-19 outbreak. All the same, the facilitator demonstrated again, so they all had the information to be ambassadors of the hygiene and sanitation training to their community. During the demonstration, it was evident that most participants needed to remember the exact ten steps, so it was a good refresher for all.

“Today’s training has been much enriching to us, the community. Information gathered will significantly reduce hygiene-related diseases, thus increasing school attendance and contributing to dignity and inclusion. We indeed purpose to disseminate this knowledge to the entire community,” said chair lady of the water user committee, Sharon Jusa.

Conclusion

This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members. When an issue arises concerning the well, the students and teachers have the necessary skills to rectify the problem and ensure the water point works appropriately. However, if the issue is beyond their capabilities, they can contact their local field officers to assist them.

Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. We walk with each community, problem-solving together when they face challenges with functionality, seasonality, or water quality. Together, all these components help us strive for enduring access to reliable, clean, and safe water for this community.

With your contribution, one more piece has been added to a large puzzle of water projects. In our target areas, we’re working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. With this in mind, search through our upcoming projects to see which community you can help next!

Thank you for making all of this possible!

02/14/2023: Kinu Friends Primary School New Well Underway!

A severe clean water shortage at Kinu Friends Primary School drains students’ time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this school through the introduction and pictures we’ve posted, and read about this water, sanitation, and hygiene project. We look forward to reaching out with more good news!

In a remote village in Western Kenya sits the Kinu Primary School with 371 students and 16 teachers. The area enjoys a good road network and electricity connections.

The primary source of water for the school is a protected spring located outside the school compound. The spring is shared with the community members, causing delays due to congestion. The drought season is especially difficult due to the low water table, which means the school does not have sufficient water.

Mr. Odanga, the school Head Teacher, explained, “Most class lessons are interrupted when students are requested to go fetch water at the spring. The spring, being shared with the community, occasionally gets congested. During this time, students waste time collecting water, thus interrupting their lessons. I have several times missed teaching my class lessons as the students are not in class at the time.”

Students fetch water in the morning, afternoon, and evening so there is sufficient water to meet the school’s needs.

“We do waste much time at the spring fetching water, especially when the water point is congested. This has negatively impacted my studies,” commented Susan V., a 12-year-old student.

A new well will allow the students to access clean, safe water within the school compound and focus on their studies.

What We Can Do:

New Well

We conducted a hydrogeological survey at this school and the results indicated the water table beneath it is an ideal candidate for a borehole well. Due to a borehole well’s unique ability to tap into a safe, year-round water column, it will be poised to serve all of the water needs for this school’s large population, even through the dry months.

The school will help collect the needed construction materials such as sand, rocks, and water for mixing cement. They will also provide housing and meals for the work team, in addition to providing local laborers. We will complement their materials by providing an expert team of artisans and drilling professionals, tools, hardware, and the hand-pump. Once finished, water from the well will then be used by the school’s students and staff for drinking, handwashing, cooking, cleaning, and much more.

Handwashing Stations

The student health club will oversee the two new handwashing stations we will provide, and make sure they are kept clean and in working condition. The club leaders will fill the handwashing stations with water daily and make sure they are always supplied with a cleaning agent such as soap or ash.

VIP Latrines

We will construct two triple-door latrine blocks using local materials that the school will help gather. Three doors will serve the girls and three doors will serve the boys. All of these new latrines will have cement floors that are designed to be easy to use and to clean. And with a borehole right on school property, there should be enough water to keep them clean.

Training on Health, Hygiene, COVID-19, and More

We will hold a one-day intensive training session with students, teachers, and parents. This training will cover a wide range of topics including COVID-19 symptoms, transmission routes, and prevention; personal and environmental hygiene; and the operation and maintenance of the borehole, latrines, and handwashing stations. There will be a special emphasis on handwashing.

Our team of facilitators will use a variety of methods to train, including participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation, and asset-based community development. We will initiate a student health club, which will prepare students to lead other pupils into healthy habits at school and at home. We will also lead lectures, group discussions, and provide illustrative handouts to teach health topics and ways to promote good hygiene practices within the school including handwashing and water treatment. We will then conduct a series of follow-up trainings before transitioning to our regularly scheduled support visits throughout the year.

We and the school strongly believe that all of these components will work together to improve standards at this school, which will help lead to better student academic performance and will help unlock the opportunity for these students to live better, healthier lives.

In a remote village in Western Kenya sits the Kinu Primary School with 371 students and 16 teachers. The area enjoys a good road network and electricity connections.

The primary source of water for the school is a protected spring located outside the school compound. The spring is shared with the community members, causing delays due to congestion. The drought season is especially difficult due to the low water table, which means the school does not have sufficient water.

Mr. Odanga, the school Head Teacher, explained, “Most class lessons are interrupted when students are requested to go fetch water at the spring. The spring, being shared with the community, occasionally gets congested. During this time, students waste time collecting water, thus interrupting their lessons. I have several times missed teaching my class lessons as the students are not in class at the time.”

Students fetch water in the morning, afternoon, and evening so there is sufficient water to meet the school’s needs.

“We do waste much time at the spring fetching water, especially when the water point is congested. This has negatively impacted my studies,” commented Susan V., a 12-year-old student.

A new well will allow the students to access clean, safe water within the school compound and focus on their studies.

What We Can Do:

New Well

We conducted a hydrogeological survey at this school and the results indicated the water table beneath it is an ideal candidate for a borehole well. Due to a borehole well’s unique ability to tap into a safe, year-round water column, it will be poised to serve all of the water needs for this school’s large population, even through the dry months.

The school will help collect the needed construction materials such as sand, rocks, and water for mixing cement. They will also provide housing and meals for the work team, in addition to providing local laborers. We will complement their materials by providing an expert team of artisans and drilling professionals, tools, hardware, and the hand-pump. Once finished, water from the well will then be used by the school’s students and staff for drinking, handwashing, cooking, cleaning, and much more.

Handwashing Stations

The student health club will oversee the two new handwashing stations we will provide, and make sure they are kept clean and in working condition. The club leaders will fill the handwashing stations with water daily and make sure they are always supplied with a cleaning agent such as soap or ash.

VIP Latrines

We will construct two triple-door latrine blocks using local materials that the school will help gather. Three doors will serve the girls and three doors will serve the boys. All of these new latrines will have cement floors that are designed to be easy to use and to clean. And with a borehole right on school property, there should be enough water to keep them clean.

Training on Health, Hygiene, COVID-19, and More

We will hold a one-day intensive training session with students, teachers, and parents. This training will cover a wide range of topics including COVID-19 symptoms, transmission routes, and prevention; personal and environmental hygiene; and the operation and maintenance of the borehole, latrines, and handwashing stations. There will be a special emphasis on handwashing.

Our team of facilitators will use a variety of methods to train, including participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation, and asset-based community development. We will initiate a student health club, which will prepare students to lead other pupils into healthy habits at school and at home. We will also lead lectures, group discussions, and provide illustrative handouts to teach health topics and ways to promote good hygiene practices within the school including handwashing and water treatment. We will then conduct a series of follow-up trainings before transitioning to our regularly scheduled support visits throughout the year.

We and the school strongly believe that all of these components will work together to improve standards at this school, which will help lead to better student academic performance and will help unlock the opportunity for these students to live better, healthier lives.