This project is made possible through the partnership of WATER CHARITY and the NATIONAL PEACE CORPS ASSOCIATION. 
Location
Mbaso Primary School, Mansa District, Luapula Province, Zambia
Community Description
The Mbaso Primary School is in a rural community where there is no electricity or running water. Most community members rely on farming as their source of income.
The School is about 18.6 miles from the provincial capital of Mansa. There are 485 students enrolled at the school and a teaching staff of 11.
Problem Addressed
Mbaso Primary School currently uses an open well that completely dries up in the hot season. This forces the young pupils, mostly girls, to walk long distances in search of an alternative source of water.
Project Description
This project is to install a new borehole well with a hand pump at the school. The water in such wells is not exposed to contamination, and provides a much cleaner water source than an open well.
The borehole well will be drilled by an experienced and reliable well-drilling company and is expected to have a lifetime of 50 years.
The schools and surrounding communities will be involved in every step of this project. During the construction process, the community will provide labor, sand, and stone for the project.
The students will also be engaged in the process of informing the community about the proper use of the well. Teachers will hold a class on water sanitation and proper utilization of the borehole. Course discussions will include information about boiling drinking water, chlorine usage, washing hands after latrine use and proper hygiene.
Following the course, three to four groups of students will create sketches of various scenarios around water and sanitation. The sketches should demonstrate proper and improper borehole use. These students will present their sketches to sensitize the community at large on a day planned with the Mansa Municipal Council (the local project partner) and the school.
Project Impact
485 students, as well as a school staff of 11 will benefit from this project.
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Emily McKeone, RPCV (Zambia 2012-2014)
Monitoring and Maintenance
Mbaso Primary School has formed a maintenance committee to monitor and protect the borehole. Teachers and the Parent Teacher Association are involved in the committee and will ensure proper regulation. The committee is responsible for determining hours of operation for the borehole (and locking the borehole on off hours), as well as collecting community fees. All community fees will be safely secured for a spare parts fund.
Comments
The school will now have a reliable source of drinking water. The need to search for water will be eliminated at Mbaso Primary School. The impact of a clean water source on campus is expected to improve health and sanitation at school, resulting in improved school attendance. Community members were engaged in the borehole construction process- providing sand, stone, and labor as their in-kind contribution. The school will plant fruit trees near the borehole, to also assist with the issue of food security in the area.
Teachers prepared a class on water, sanitation, and proper utilization of the borehole. Course discussions included information about boiling drinking water, chlorine usage, washing hands after latrine use, and proper hygiene. Following the course, students created sketches, poems, and songs of various scenarios around water and sanitation. These students performed their creations to spread the information to the community at large on September 24, 2015. The Mansa Municipal Council was present to discuss maintenance topics and spare part prices.
This project is #2 of 13 wells currently being constructed under our Water for Zambia Program. It is also part of our ongoing East Africa Water & Sanitation Program.
This project accrues to the benefit of girls, and works to keep them in school. It is in the spirit and support of the official Let Girls Learn program, and we designate it LGL+.
This project is part of our Water for Zambia Program. It also falls under our ongoing East Africa Water & Sanitation Program.
This project has been fully paid for by an anonymous donor.
If you like this project, please donate to the Water for Zambia Program so that we will have money available for similar projects.
This project has been completed. To read the conclusion report, CLICK HERE.
