Mutanga Project Complete
Mutanga Primary School is located in Nyandarua County, Kenya. The climate is classified as semi-arid tropics with two rainy seasons (March-May) and (November-December). The school population is made up of 144 girls, 126 boys and 11 teachers.
Pupils fetch water from a seasonal stream about 300m away during the wet season, but there is no water during the dry spells. The water is not drinkable and is used to wet the earthen class floors. Pupils carry individual water in small bottles for personal use from home. The temporary latrines are inadequate and in poor condition and there is also no water or soap to wash hands.
Lack of access to a water supply is compounded by poor sanitation. Where latrines do exist they are often in poor condition. Existing sanitary facilities rarely have separate blocks for boys and girls and have wooden bases, suffering subsidence with potentially catastrophic implications for someone trapped inside. When girls reach puberty they require more privacy and will often stay away from school for periods of time each month or drop out completely if separate facilities are not available. This leads to low performance in schools.
- Increase access to sustainable water supply for drinking through construction of rainwater storage tanks (75m3) and installation of guttering system for expansive school roof catchments
- Improve sanitation and good hygiene practices in school through construction of gender-sensitive ventilated improved Pit (VIP) latrines– separate blocks for boys, teachers and girls
- Construction of hand-washing facilities
- Build the capacity and increase knowledge of local communities on rainwater harvesting, improved sanitation, health & hygiene (WASH), food security & nutrition (climate-smart agriculture) and environmental conservation
The school now has all the proposed project components and the teachers, parents and pupils are extremely grateful and elated. The students at Mutanga are enjoying the sanitation and water tank facilities and they remain eternally grateful to you for ensuring that they have clean water flowing from their taps and proper hygienic sanitation facilities. Learning has never been more easy and fun! What you have given this year can only make things even better for these children in future.
Thank you to Emerson Middle School, IL for supporting this project!
