Kwanjora Primary School is located in Nyandarua County, Kenya. The climate is classified as semi-arid tropics with two rainy seasons (March-May) and (November-December). The school population is made up of 153 girls, 145 boys and 11 teachers.
The school has one old masonry tank (10m3) and one plastic tank (3m3) which stores water for only one month after the rains. Thus pupils fetch the water from a dam 500m from the school but this poses a risk for the pupils. Other times, pupils carry water from home for cleaning their classrooms, drinking and washing. The semi-permanent latrines were abandoned after getting filled or collapsing during the rainy seasons. The pupils rarely wash their hands due to inadequate water supply in the school. Pupils spend a significant amount of time fetching water and water borne diseases are a common health challenge thus low attendance (75-90%) and low self-esteem for teachers leading to below average academic performance in the final national examination (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE).
Project Proposal: Upgrading of the school’s WASH infrastructure – construction of 75m3 masonry rainwater storage tank including a hand-washing unit and increasing the number of gender-segregated VIP latrines.
