Beacon of Hope Primary School Rainwater Catchment System Project – Kenya

Location
Sekenani Gate, Narok District, Kenya

Community Description
Sekenani Gate is located right at the southern entrance of the Maasai Mara, about 110 kilometers south of Narok.

Beacon of Hope Primary School is located 1 kilometer from the Mara Hope Restoration Center in Sekenani Gate. The school is a half-sized primary school that teaches kids between the standards of baby class and standard 4. There are 6 teachers, 105 enrolled students, and a cook.

 Problem Addressed
The cook for the school makes lunch in the teachers’ main office, as construction of a school kitchen is underway and set to be completed next month. She uses water bought from water bearers at 80 shillings for 80 liters, and which is usually not clean.

Several instances of typhoid sprout up every month in the school, causing students to miss up to a week of classes.

As it stands, there are four latrines to service the entire population, and no handwashing stations. This contributes to the problem of maintaining sanitary conditions in a learning environment for small children.

Project Description
This project is to build a rainwater catchment system to provide water for all of the needs of the school.

The system will consist of a set of gutters for the collection of rainwater connected to a water storage tank. The water will be used mainly for handwashing and sanitation. Water used for cooking and drinking will be boiled first.

The tank will be acquired from the Kentank company location in Narok town, about two hours away from Sekenani and transported to the site.

The gutters will be fashioned from aluminum slats of 4 feet and 6 feet on two sides of the roof of the kitchen.

The tank is made of hard plastic. It will be elevated 92 centimeters, or just about 3 feet. 2 x 4’s will be used to construct the stand. The tank’s tap will be about shoulder height for the smaller students at the school.

Water Charity funds will go toward the purchase of the tank, the purchase of the wood for the stand, half of the labor for the construction of the stand, and half of the labor for the installation.

The community will contribute half of the labor for the construction of the stand, the installation of the gutters, and the transport of the tank, as well as the purchase of soap.

The school will build a handwashing station next to the place where meals are provided to encourage washing before every meal.

Maintenance and upkeep for the stand, gutters, and tank will be provided by the school and supplemented by teachers working at Osiligi School, inside the Mara Hope Restoration compound, where another rain catchment system was installed last year.

Project Impact
112 people will benefit from the project, including 105 students, 6 teachers, and a cook.

Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Maxx Mann

Comments
This is an important project that will improve the health and well-being of those at the school.

Maxx previously completed the Mara Hope Restoration Center Rainwater Catchment System Project – Kenya.

Dollar Amount of Project
$230.00

Donations Collected to Date
$230.00

Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project has been fully funded through the generosity of friends and family of Peace Corps Volunteer Maxx Mann.

We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Maxx of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Maxx and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.