Water Blogged

Mlandege Primary School, a government institution located in the Mseke sub-village of Mlandege village in the Iringa Rural district, serves 285 students ranging from nursery to standard seven, including 140 girls and 145 boys. The school employs 10 teachers and staff members. Similar to other villages and schools in Iringa, Mlandege School faced a significant challenge due to the absence of safe water.

The students spent considerable time collecting water for domestic purposes such as drinking, cleaning, and cooking. Each morning, they were required to bring a 10-liter bucket of water to school. This water was collected from various sources in and around the village, including an old hand-dug well. Moreover, valuable class time was lost later in the day as students went to fetch water, adversely affecting their academic performance. Teachers, too, would accompany the children, resulting in lost instructional time.

The water sources near the village, often shared with livestock, tend to be highly polluted. As a result, students would spend more time collecting water and recuperating from waterborne diseases than on their studies. The school urgently required a safe water supply to fulfill its needs for drinking, handwashing, cooking, and cleaning.

The overall objective of this project was to provide access to clean water for the students at Mlandege Primary School. Our implementing partner, St. Paul Partners (SSP), successfully installed a borehole well on the school grounds! This will ensure students have access to enough safe water, which will lead to more time in the classroom studying. Plentiful, safe water will also have a significant impact on the health of the students, teachers and neighbors around the village.

SSP representatives worked with the school administration to identify a suitable location for a borehole well that would have a hand pump. This 30M deep well was drilled, flushed, and tested to the standards of St. Paul Partners. The project included the furnishing of all materials, labor and supervision required during drilling. To ensure the project’s sustainability, WASH training was conducted at Mlandege School. Students and staff were trained to use the hand pump and ensure its sustainability. This training aimed to strengthen the schools’ and villages’ sense of ownership towards the project. The school leaders promise to take good care of the well for many years.

Thanks to the following for supporting this project: