Project
St. Augustine Indulusia Primary School
St. Augustine Indulusia Primary School was started in the Year 2007 by well-wishers. It started with a population of 50 students and 1 untrained teacher who taught all the subjects. The school currently has a population of 559 Students, 15 staff, and 2 Support staff. It has a rising population yearly because of its good performing streak.
The 559 students and 15 St. Augustine Indulusia Primary School staff struggle to access sufficient water. Without adequate water on campus, children are forced to leave school and learning opportunities to travel to a protected spring to collect water. Once there, they must wait in long lines because it is shared with the entire community and then carry it back to school. It's a process that steals a significant portion of their energy each day.
The school has a dug well on campus, though more often than not, it sits dry. When that happens, students must bring water from home, often from unknown sources, putting everyone's health at risk. Even when they bring water from home, it still doesn't meet their needs, so students must travel to the spring.
Field Officer Joel Otuya shared what the water crisis at St. Augustine Indulusia Primary School looks like. "The main water source for Indulusia Primary is a protected spring, which is a bit far from the school. The road leading to this spring is narrow, slippery when wet, and bushy since it passes through maize plantations. It doesn't provide enough water for the school since they also share with community members. Another source of water is a protected hand-dug well with a hand pump, and its handle is very loose; the hand-dug well itself is very seasonal and lacks water most of the time."
Time used to wait in line at the spring or travel there and back is stolen from time used to learn. When students can't prioritize their education, it affects their day-to-day life and their futures in the long run.
To make matters worse, time isn't the only thing stolen. Students are often ill due to contamination, which uses valuable time to recover from and needed resources from their family's already meager budgets.
13-year-old Faith B, seen below, is well acquainted with the constant struggle. "In February this year, I fell ill from flue (feeling ill from contaminated water) and had to miss school for a week. This made me lag behind in my studies. I also lack drinking water because we are very many students, hence making it chaotic to access it. I waste a lot of time at the spring whenever the teachers send me to fetch water. We are many and have to queue for a very long time, therefore wasting a lot of time."
"Last year, when we asked students to bring water from home, one went further and urinated in a water container and brought it to school. The urine then contaminated water brought by other students. Therefore, we had to send them to fetch water at the spring, hence wasting a lot of time. The same year, I was a victim of [a] jigger infestation due to the dirty state of the classrooms since there is very little water for cleaning. The smell from the latrines is unbearable because they are mostly dirty with little or sometimes no water for cleaning and handwashing," shared 29-year-old teacher Mildred Aoko (photo attached).
This school is facing a disheartening challenge. They sacrifice time and health to collect water, that is never enough. Without clean, easily accessible water, their futures are at risk.
Installing the well will enable students like Faith to spend their time learning, hopefully reducing their risk of waterborne illnesses. Teachers like Mildred will be able to give their students a cleaner, healthier learning environment, and hopefully, the time wasted waiting for water will be regained for a brighter future.
The school has a dug well on campus, though more often than not, it sits dry. When that happens, students must bring water from home, often from unknown sources, putting everyone's health at risk. Even when they bring water from home, it still doesn't meet their needs, so students must travel to the spring.
Field Officer Joel Otuya shared what the water crisis at St. Augustine Indulusia Primary School looks like. "The main water source for Indulusia Primary is a protected spring, which is a bit far from the school. The road leading to this spring is narrow, slippery when wet, and bushy since it passes through maize plantations. It doesn't provide enough water for the school since they also share with community members. Another source of water is a protected hand-dug well with a hand pump, and its handle is very loose; the hand-dug well itself is very seasonal and lacks water most of the time."
Time used to wait in line at the spring or travel there and back is stolen from time used to learn. When students can't prioritize their education, it affects their day-to-day life and their futures in the long run.
To make matters worse, time isn't the only thing stolen. Students are often ill due to contamination, which uses valuable time to recover from and needed resources from their family's already meager budgets.
13-year-old Faith B, seen below, is well acquainted with the constant struggle. "In February this year, I fell ill from flue (feeling ill from contaminated water) and had to miss school for a week. This made me lag behind in my studies. I also lack drinking water because we are very many students, hence making it chaotic to access it. I waste a lot of time at the spring whenever the teachers send me to fetch water. We are many and have to queue for a very long time, therefore wasting a lot of time."
"Last year, when we asked students to bring water from home, one went further and urinated in a water container and brought it to school. The urine then contaminated water brought by other students. Therefore, we had to send them to fetch water at the spring, hence wasting a lot of time. The same year, I was a victim of [a] jigger infestation due to the dirty state of the classrooms since there is very little water for cleaning. The smell from the latrines is unbearable because they are mostly dirty with little or sometimes no water for cleaning and handwashing," shared 29-year-old teacher Mildred Aoko (photo attached).
This school is facing a disheartening challenge. They sacrifice time and health to collect water, that is never enough. Without clean, easily accessible water, their futures are at risk.
Installing the well will enable students like Faith to spend their time learning, hopefully reducing their risk of waterborne illnesses. Teachers like Mildred will be able to give their students a cleaner, healthier learning environment, and hopefully, the time wasted waiting for water will be regained for a brighter future.
What We Can Do:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
0.404376 latitude, 34.796086 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.
