Project
Ebwambwa Secondary School 2
Project Complete!
Ebwambwa Secondary School was established in 2010 after a land and classroom donation from the primary school section. The first class had 7 students, and since then the population has grown to around 700.
The 667 students and 39 staff at Ebwambwa Secondary School struggle to have sufficient water to meet their needs. The heavy responsibility of finding and collecting sufficient water is born almost exclusively by the students, who sacrifice their education in search of water.
"This situation of lack of enough water in school affects me. [I] am used to carrying water from home for drinking. The little water I carry, I have to share with friends, and just before noon time [I] am left thirsty with no drinking water," said 16-year-old Shirlin M.
Field officer Mildred Mboha shared that the school has a 30,000-liter rainwater harvesting tank, which is supported by a 5,000-liter capacity plastic tank, but the water points are overstretched by the growing school population. They can't keep up with the demand, especially during the dry season. During the rainy season, even if the tanks are filled to the brim, they can only serve the school for a maximum of two weeks.
"We overcrowd the tank with only one tap. The bell for class time could ring before even you get the water, and you have to go to the next lesson," said Shirlin.
Teachers do their best to monitor water collection, but the tanks still run dry far sooner than everyone hopes.
"We have to use maximum time for supervision of students when using water. This technique enables us to minimize wastage though we waste a lot of time," teacher Hussein Mulungo said (shown below).
When the tank runs dry, which it inevitably does, students must leave their school campus and cross a busy road to collect water from a well at a nearby school.
"As a teacher, [I] am not okay with the idea of students crossing the road during lunchtime to go to the primary section to get water, but we have no choice. As [a] teacher, I have to miss some classes in a month when students have gone to find water for cleaning or water was not available and led to delay in [the] cleaning of classes and latrines, especially on days when thorough cleanliness is done in school," continued Hussein.
Installing a well at the school will enable everyone to spend more time inside the classroom. Students will be able to spend their time learning instead of collecting water, and teachers will be able to do their jobs well to make the future brighter.
"This situation of lack of enough water in school affects me. [I] am used to carrying water from home for drinking. The little water I carry, I have to share with friends, and just before noon time [I] am left thirsty with no drinking water," said 16-year-old Shirlin M.
Field officer Mildred Mboha shared that the school has a 30,000-liter rainwater harvesting tank, which is supported by a 5,000-liter capacity plastic tank, but the water points are overstretched by the growing school population. They can't keep up with the demand, especially during the dry season. During the rainy season, even if the tanks are filled to the brim, they can only serve the school for a maximum of two weeks.
"We overcrowd the tank with only one tap. The bell for class time could ring before even you get the water, and you have to go to the next lesson," said Shirlin.
Teachers do their best to monitor water collection, but the tanks still run dry far sooner than everyone hopes.
"We have to use maximum time for supervision of students when using water. This technique enables us to minimize wastage though we waste a lot of time," teacher Hussein Mulungo said (shown below).
When the tank runs dry, which it inevitably does, students must leave their school campus and cross a busy road to collect water from a well at a nearby school.
"As a teacher, [I] am not okay with the idea of students crossing the road during lunchtime to go to the primary section to get water, but we have no choice. As [a] teacher, I have to miss some classes in a month when students have gone to find water for cleaning or water was not available and led to delay in [the] cleaning of classes and latrines, especially on days when thorough cleanliness is done in school," continued Hussein.
Installing a well at the school will enable everyone to spend more time inside the classroom. Students will be able to spend their time learning instead of collecting water, and teachers will be able to do their jobs well to make the future brighter.
What We Will Do, Together:
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.
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.
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.
0.311717 latitude, 34.767747 longitude
H2O for Life is not a WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) project implementer. We have partnerships with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) implementing WASH in Schools projects around the world. Our NGO partners match funds needed for each school project. We also have a generous donor that provides us with an interest-free loan that, along with matching funds, allows for many projects to be started or possibly even completed before total funds have been raised. In rare situations we reserve the right to reallocate funds to alternate project(s).
Questions? Ask us at 651-756-7577 or info@h2oforlifeschools.org.
