Neighbors Academy is located in Misori Beach along Lake Victoria in Siaya County in Western Kenya. The weather is dry and hot most of the year. Women in the community walk to the lake early every morning with big basins to wash their clothes and plates, bathe, and then carry the same lake water back home for drinking. Some have their children join them to do the same and also fetch water before they can go to school. Neighbors Academy has a school population of 305, of which 201 are girls and 104 boys.
The school has no water source so the pupils have to walk to the lake, where women are doing their washing and people are bathing. Animals also share this lake to get their water. This puts the children at risk of drowning because they rush and push each other when fetching the water. We all know Lake water is not safe to drink as it is also used as a toilet by the local people and animals. There are not enough toilets in the school and the ones that are there are in poor condition - 2 for girls and 2 for boys. Pupils stand in long lines to use the toilets missing important class time. Teachers report frequent cases of diarrhea and stomach pain mostly with the younger students, as well as high cases of absenteeism leading to poor performance.
Our implementing partner, Community Mobilization for Positive Empowerment (COMPE), has started a hygiene program in the school and would like to complete a full water, sanitation and hygiene education (WASH) program for all the children and surrounding community members. They will build a rainwater harvesting system with a 15,000 liter water tank to help the children have safe water in school and reduce the risk of drowning. To ensure the water is safe, they will install 3 Bio-sand filters to purify the water and reduce cases of water borne diseases like diarrhea and stomach pain. They plan to rehab the existing latrines and also construct a new modern pit latrine (with 2 stalls) to reduce the long lines. The school health club will be trained to make soap for hand washing which will improve hygiene and reduce the costs of treatment for illness. The health club will also make enough soap to sell to the surrounding community and the sales will be an income generating activity for the school. This project will provide access to safe water, reduce the risk of water borne diseases and improve the classroom performance of the students to give them a brighter future.
H2O for Life partners with experienced NGO organizations around the world that build and support clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education projects in schools. These NGO partners cover half the total cost of every project funded through H2O for Life.
When students raise money for a project, 90% of the funds go directly to the project, and 10% supports the work that makes the project possible. This includes choosing trusted partners, managing funds responsibly, checking on projects, and reporting back so students can see the impact of their work.
This helps ensure every project is done well, stays sustainable, and truly changes lives.
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.
