Our eighth Just a Drop project is complete

Back on 03 October 2016, five members of Hayes & Jarvis staff reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, raising £10,000 for water aid organisation Just a Drop. Fast forward a year and the generosity of everyone who donated to our sponsored climb is changing the lives of the pupils and teachers of Kiteta Secondary School in Kenya.

Work is now complete on the water tank at the school, which will provide a year-round supply of clean, safe water to 550 pupils, 27 teachers and 15 additional school staff.

Kenya is a chronically water-scarce country, with large parts of the land classified as arid or semi-arid, prone to severe drought. Previously, the school’s nearest borehole was very salty, leading to a high transfer rate of students. The school resorted to buying fresh water which was very costly and unsustainable.

The water storage tank will collect safe water through the rainy seasons and can also store water bought in on a large scale if the rains do not provide enough. Alongside this, three hand-washing facilities have been built and water, sanitation and hygiene education on hand-washing, food hygiene and latrine use was conducted to all students. A Health Club has also been set up to reinforce these messages to current and future students.

The expected overall impact on the school:

·         An improvement in health with increased attendance, as the instance of water-related illnesses will decrease with reliable year-round access to safe water

·         Improved hygiene and sanitation practices will improve the school environment, health and quality of life of the students and teachers overall

·         The importance of the water, sanitation and hygiene education will filter out to the wider community through the students to make an impact on their lives as well

17 year old Jacklyn shares how the water, sanitation and hygiene education has helped her:

“I have learnt about the simplest ways to prevent disease transmission routes through hygiene behaviour practices. As a girl, personal hygiene is important and I have learned how to maintain personal hygiene through bathing among other things and especially how and where to hang my clothes. On the issue of water safety in our school, water hygiene will improve to greater heights.

Safe drinking water has been an issue. We’ve had many cases of stomach complications associated with diarrhoea because of taking the water that’s available in school that is dirty and not treated. The knowledge we’ve gained on food and water hygiene will help us improve and prevent such diseases.”

We would like to thank you for your support and donations to our sponsored climb. Find out more about our work with Just a Drop here.