Gimomoi Rainwater Tank Complete!

Gimomoi Primary School in Kenya now has access to a new source of safe, clean water thanks to the completion of their rain tank! Here's the completion report from our implementing partner, The Water Project:

We installed new latrines and handwashing stations for students, and we trained the school on improved sanitation and hygiene practices, including COVID-19 prevention. These components will unlock the opportunity for these students to live better, healthier lives.

"I will no longer be fetching water from the stream," said Joy.

"Since we have water in school now, [I] am sure I will have more time to be in class. I will be able to make my own timetable and follow it strictly to improve my grades more."

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

"As a teacher, I know clean and safe flowing water in school means living healthy," said Walter Uganda, the school's Head Teacher. "I will no longer have a fear of getting sick because of consuming water children get from home."

Construction for this 75,000-liter rain tank was successful!

Parents, staff, and students helped our artisans gather everything needed for construction.

The school's kitchen staff and a few parents helped provide meals for the artisans, while the school provided the artisans' accommodations. Locals helped our artisans with their manual labor, too.

The process officially began with our staff and school administration looking around the school compound to determine the best location for a new rain tank. This needed to be the best site with enough land and a nearby building with good, clean roofing to catch the rainwater.

Then, we cleared the site by excavating the soil to make level ground for the tank foundation.

We cast the foundation by laying big stones on the level ground and reinforcing them using steel wire, concrete, and waterproof cement. We affixed both the drawing pipe and the drainage pipe as we laid the foundation.

Next, we formed the walls using a skeleton of rebar and wire mesh with sugar sacks temporarily tied to the outside as backing. We attached this to the foundation's edges so that the work team could start the Ferro-cementing process.

They began layering the walls with cement, alternating with the inner and outer side until six cement layers were in place. (The sugar sacks are removed once the interior receives its first two layers of cement.)

We cast one central and four support pillars inside the tank to ensure the dome does not cave in once cemented. Meanwhile, we plastered the inner wall while roughcasting the outer walls. We dug and plastered the access area to the tap outside the tank, installing a short staircase. We constructed a soak pit in front of the access area where spilled water can drain from the access area through the ground. The pit helps to keep the tap area dry and tidy.

Dome construction could begin after the tank walls settled. We attached a dome skeleton of rebar, wire mesh, and sugar sacks to the tank walls before cementing and plastering it using similar techniques as the wall construction. We included a small manhole cover into the dome to allow access for future cleanings and water treatments.

We propped long wooden poles (about 75 of them!) inside the tank to support the dome while it cured. Then it was down to the finishing touches: fitting a lockable cover over the tap area, affixing the gutters to the roof and tank, and setting an overflow pipe in place at the edge of the dome for when the tank reaches capacity.

Once finished, we gave the rain tank three to four weeks to undergo complete curing. Finally, we removed the interior support poles and dome sugar sacks and cleaned the tank.

This project funded six new ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines, three for the girls and three for the boys. These new latrines have cement floors designed to be easy to use and clean, locking doors for safety and privacy, and vents designed to keep air flowing up and out through the roof. With a rain tank right on school property, there should be enough water to keep them clean.

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, the facilitators (Olivia Bomji, Samwel Simidi, Nelly Mtai, and Jemimah Khasoha) deployed to the site to lead the event. Twenty-one students and teachers attended the training, which we held on the grounds of a nearby church that permitted us to set up outside.

We focused on COVID-19 prevention, transmission, and symptoms while also covering several other topics. These included personal hygiene such as bathing, oral hygiene, and the ten steps of handwashing; environmental hygiene; child rights; operation and maintenance of the rain tank, latrines, and handwashing stations; and leadership and governance. During the latter, the students elected their peers to lead their newly formed student health club.

The club will be significantly involved in the water, sanitation, and hygiene project management at school. It will encourage good health and hygiene practices amongst their peers, teachers, and the larger community.

We involved stretches, dances, and physical activities between each topic to keep the pupils' energy up and their minds active. By the end of the training, each pupil understood their role in sustaining clean water and good health within their school community.

The two handwashing stations were set up during training and handed over to the student health club. These were placed outside of the girls' and boys' latrines to encourage handwashing after latrine use. Health club members will teach other students how to wash their hands at the stations properly, ensure the stations are filled with water and ensure that there is always a cleaning agent such as soap or ash available.

Handwashing turned out to be the students' favorite topic. They were making fun of how they used to wash their hands, and some students confessed to enjoying handwashing now!

"I have learned that general sanitation and hygiene is very important because it defines the well-being of a person," said Mitchel, the new student health club's secretary. "[I] am sure the way we have been doing things will change in school and even back home."

Students weren't the only ones to learn new things. Teacher Diane Achono learned more about the pandemic and virus prevention. She said: "The training was so valuable to me, and [I] am sure from today, I will be able to protect myself and those around me from COVID-19 by ensuring that I follow all the COVID-19 guidelines; that the Ministry of Health gave."

We asked Diane what it was like to be at home for most of the last year due to Kenya's national coronavirus-related school closures and what it has been like coming back to school.

"I was unable to achieve the targets that we had planned with my pupils, and it forced us to recap again to reach the level we were before," Diane said. "I missed my pupils and teaching a lot."

Now that the rain tank, latrines, and training have all been completed, Head Teacher Walter Uganda is excited about the school's—and the student's—futures. "I will be teaching all my lessons and extra lessons without postponing as I used to do. [I] am sure that the grades of my pupils will improve because they have more time to be in class and not fetching water."

When an issue arises concerning the rain tank, 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 our field officers to assist them. Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our ongoing monitoring and maintenance program.

Thank you to Forsyth School in MO and Oltman Middle School in MN for supporting Gimomoi and making all of this possible!