Kipsigor Well Complete!

We are excited to share that Kipsigor 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 source of water for all of their daily needs. We also installed new latrines and handwashing 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.

 

"I will now have good health and attend school [more] regularly than before when I used to be sick after consuming dirty water from the passing river," said 13-year-old Elizabeth V.

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

"We have been consuming dirty water for a long time, which has been affecting our health and makes some of us miss school. But from now onwards, I believe absenteeism cases [are] going to reduce," said 39-year-old teacher Jared Osoro.

 

"This water point is going to help us achieve a lot," Jared continued. "For instance, cleanliness. We have been cleaning our classrooms once a week, but things are going to change. At least, we will be doing cleanliness every day in the evening. Secondly, we have been wasting a lot of time while going to collect water outside [the] school compound, but now all this is going to change. No more time-wasting or interfering with lessons to go fetching water, and I know our school performance will have positive feedback."

Here is the completion report provided by our implementing partner, The Water Project:

Parents, staff, and students all played a part in 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, 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 100 meters with a final static water level of 45 meters. The drilling process can take up to three consecutive days to complete 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 and 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 seal off 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.

"In this community, getting clean and safe water has been a very big challenge. So the water point the school has benefited from is going to make a big positive impact not only for the school but also for the community members around as they are going to consume clean water," said our field officer Stella Inganji.

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.

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.

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.

We scheduled hygiene and sanitation training with the school’s staff, who ensured that the training date would be convenient for pupils and teachers. When the training day arrived, facilitators Stella and Betty deployed to the site to lead the event. 18 students and teachers attended the training, which we held under a 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 larger community. By the end of the training, each pupil understood their role in sustaining clean water and good health within their school community.

Dental hygiene was a popular topic during the training. Students were asked when they last brushed their teeth, but some could not recall, and one of the students said he has not been brushing his teeth because he didn't have a toothbrush.

"So because we carry along some toothbrushes, we gave [one] to all the participants, who were happy and promised to brush their teeth daily," said trainer Stella Inganji.

"The training has come at the right time because, for some time now, we have not been cleaning our classrooms using soap, just because the soap has been expensive, and getting it also hasn't been easy," said 12-year-old Akim A. "But now, with the new knowledge of soap-making, we are going to make our own soap, which we will use to clean our classes and use for handwashing too."

This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members themselves. When an issue arises concerning the well, the students and teachers are equipped with 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.

Thank you to the following for helping to make all of this possible!