Location
Kiaoni Village, Kibwezi District, Makueni County, Eastern Province, Kenya
Community Description
Kiaoni Village is located in an arid/semi-arid area, which has many serious food insecurities and is facing acute and sporadic cases of malnutrition and deaths. Rainfall in this region is very erratic and unreliable causing great difficulties for the community.
Kiaoni Secondary School is a public mixed secondary school started in 1996 with a current population of 350+ students. It is located in Kibwezi district about 50 km from Kibwezi town in Eastern Kenya. It has a teaching staff of 18 and 12 members of support staff. The students come from the resident district and supports both day scholars and boarders. The school has 210+ students currently boarding.
At Kiaoni Secondary many students are allowed to continue with their studies even though their parents have paid very little of the required school fees. This impacts on the ability of the school to provide for the needs of the students.
Kiaoni Secondary School depends on water vendors (donkeys drawn carts), shallow wells, and a nearby seasonal river for their water source. In addition to not having enough water for the school community’s domestic needs, school projects such as tree nurseries and agriculture plots for the Form Fours have all been stalled due to water constraints.
Kiaoni Secondary has only one water storage tank, a concrete container with the capacity of about 3,400 liters. The tank is quite old, and is covered only by rusty scraps of tin roofing. The current concrete tank is very susceptible to contamination, and has contributed to illness among the students and staff.
Project Description
This project is to purchase and install a water storage tank and rainwater catchment system to provide for the needs of the school.
Water Charity funds will be used to purchase a 5,000-liter KenTank from Kibwezi Town or Nairobi, as well as a tap for the tank.
The remaining amount will be used to pay for the slab on which the tank will sit, and for the salaries of the fundis (workers) who will be installing the tank.
The community of Kiaoni (including teachers, parents and Board of Governor members) have come together and raised the necessary funds to cover any additional costs needed for installation, and for the purchase of water to fill the tank.
The tank will be installed next to the staff room with a pipe in place running from the gutters on the staffroom roof into the KenTank to allow water catchment when it may rain.
The installation of the tank will be done by at least four of the school’s workers, some of whom are parents working hard at the school in order to pay their child’s fees.
After the installation, water will be brought by donkey cart and truck by a group of parents also working to pay school fees.
The entire project (purchasing and transporting the KenTank, installing and filling with water) will be completed in the span of about three weeks. The new tank will serve as storage for clean water used in food preparation and drinking, and the current older tank will be used to store “salty water” to be used for agriculture and cleaning.
Project Impact
This project will benefit 550 people, including 350 students, 30 teachers and support staff, and 150 community members who regularly interact with the school.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Jen Hagen
Comments
The large water storage tank will provide clean water for the school. In addition to the benefits of health and wellbeing for those at the school, the project will serve to motivate the community to take an active part in providing for the health and education of the children.
Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00
Donations Collected to Date
$0.00
ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT NEEDED BELOW
Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will give you “naming rights”, if that is something you would like.
Any contributions in excess of the Dollar Amount of the Project will be allocated to other projects directed by this PCV and/or projects of other PCVs in this country.
Dollar Amount Needed
$555.00
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.