Water Blogged

Kilambo Primary School is located at Tagamenda Ward in the Iringa rural district. It’s about 27 km from the town of Iringa. The school has 770 students from preschool to standard seven and 12 staff members. There are currently 8 latrines for the students and 2 for the teachers.

Before
The school had no access to safe and clean water. They were using polluted water which was making the students, teachers, and staff sick with water-borne diseases. There is one rope well for the community which was sometimes used by the school, though it is unreliable due to the large number of users. This lack of water made life very difficult for the students and teachers. Students were expected to bring 1 liter of water to school every day for washing hands, drinking, cooking and watering flowers. Due to the large number of students at Kilambo water is very important, but the lack of safe, clean water means they were mostly using polluted water sources which found around the village. Students also wasted a lot of time fetching water which would negatively impact their classes and school performance in general. The head teacher said that most of the time students brought water from the river and other small dams which are unclean and unsafe because cattle and other animals use these same sources.

Project Goal
The goal was to provide quality, clean and safe water to Kilambo Primary School to improve the quality of life for students, teachers and neighbors around the school. Having an alternative source of water will end the consumption of unclean and unsafe water. Students will also have more time for their studies by not needing to fetch water from the rivers and streams, thus improving their performance.

Project Beneficiaries
The primary beneficiaries of this project are 770 students from Kilambo Primary School, 12 staff members and their families and neighbors around the school.

Project Sustainability
To ensure sustainability of the project, WASH training was conducted at the Kilambo Primary School. Students and staff were trained on how to use the hand pump and to ensure its sustainability. This training aimed to strengthen the school’s and village’s sense of ownership of the project and taught them how to make it sustainable. The school promises to take good care of the well.

Project Location
The well was drilled at the Kilambo Primary School compound within Igula village. At this location, beneficiaries will be able to fetch and use safe and clean water for their domestic use including drinking.

Project Implementation
Our implementing partner for this project, St. Paul Partners, worked together with a local well drilling company to successfully drill a well at Kilambo Primary School. This well was drilled, flushed, and tested to the standards of St. Paul Partners. A hand pump was successfully installed on the well and is functioning extremely well. Laboratory testing also was conducted on the water from the borehole as well. It was shown that the water met Tanzanian water standards for domestic use. It was clear of any contamination and had decent mineral levels.

Kilambo Primary School students, staff members and surrounding villagers will benefit for years to come by having a source of clean and safe water. The health and school performance of the students will also improve!

Thank you to St. Joseph Catholic School in Arlington, TX for raising the funds for this WASH intervention!