Kirkau Primary School is in Tuala in Ongata Rongai, 5km past Nazarene University. Tuala is a growing peri-urban settlement that has expanded exponentially over the past few years as more people move from Nairobi in search of cheaper homeownership options. However, settling in the area is a challenge because the local county has yet to expand amenities there. In addition, the area is arid by nature and the local community finds it difficult to do farming when it’s dry.
The $52,500 Kirkau Primary School WASH Model School Project was Initiated by the Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs. They teamed up with the Rotary Club of Cheyenne and Rotary Club of Sterling, all clubs in Rotary District 5440 in the US, to apply for a Rotary Foundation grant for the Project. The objective of the project was to provide adequate WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) for the school and its students.
Rotary Club of Madaraka acted as the host club for the project and oversaw the overall implementation on the ground.
As part of the project, we sunk a borehole in the school, built toilets for the pupils, put up a greenhouse, and got the community trained on proper sanitation and hygiene techniques. The objective is to have Kirkau primary serve as a model school for WASH in District 9212’s WASH Strategy. The project enabled the extension of electricity to the locality by KPLC as part of its expansion program.
‘’The school now acts as a demonstration center to the wider community and other schools. It demonstrates best practices and alternative technologies in WASH education,’’ Project Manager Isaac Oenga, who is a trustee of the school and a renowned water engineer.
Eng. Oenga notes that the local community benefits from the borehole during the drought period. This is because it brought their source of clean water to less than 5km from their households. The school grows vegetables in the greenhouse to supplement the pupils’ lunch menu with healthy vegetables. It also generates income by selling to the local community so as to subsidize the costs of running the kitchen.
The community is now also practicing micro drip irrigation using water from the borehole. They are growing vegetables for personal use and if they get more, they intend to sell around the community. This highlights the potential the availability of water provides to the people around Kirkau Primary School. Following the success, the Rotary Club of Madaraka is currently supporting the enhancement of the project at a cost of US$10,000 through a partnership with the Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs. The objective is to construct a water tank and water piping system for water distribution to an expanded project area.
