Introduction
Oloika Primary School is situated 18 kilometres from Magadi town in Kajiado District, Rift Valley Province, Kenya. Magadi is approximately a two hours drive South of Nairobi. The school is situated in a dry and hardship area occupied by the nomadic Maasai community and has 477 pupils, of which only 185 are girls.
Background
Due to the hardships associated with lack of clean water and cultural practices such as early marriages and female circumcision, educational levels in the area are low. The girl-child is particularly affected as they are forced to drop out of school. Some reasons are because of the nomadic character of life around Oloika, many girls have to walk long distances to school which exposes them to security risks, they are needed for domestic chores, the extended value of education is not always clear either. To increase the number of girls who finish school, with support of the Danish Embassy, a dormitory was put up at Oloika Primary School. Solid House Foundation (SHF) was requested by Practical Action East Africa to finish the Oloika project with the building of a WatSan facility. Due to post-election violence, the fact that SHF wasn’t on the ground and increase of prices SHF and PA could build the bio digester but not the ablution block. To be able to open the dormitory a basic WatSan block was build next to the dormitory and funded by the Danish embassy. The current request of the school is to improve the current WatSan facility with drinking water points, increase the number of tabs, connect the ablution block to the bio digester and build a house for the matron. Also hygiene promotion and a operations and maintenance training will be provided.
Project objectives
- Provide access to safe drinking water and clean and secure sanitation for girls at the Oloika school dormitory
- Build capacity of hygiene amongst pupils, teachers and indirect their families; reduce sanitation related and waterborne illness and enabling more students, especially girls, to finish school
- Increase of participation of girls in school activities and improve the time that girls can study. In the dormitory they have less chores than at home – fetching water, firewood, cooking, attending to life stock, etc.
- Testing the concept of a toilet-ablution block with bio digester in a rural area in Kenya
- Harness biogas for cooking and lighting in the dormitory hence cut costs of buying fire wood and batteries, and is environmental friendly
Activities/Achievements
SHF is working with Practical Action to connect the bio digester to the ablution block, provide the after treatment of the bio digester to have grey water and manure, which can be used for irrigation and fertilise the vegetable garden, and build a matron’s house. The bio digester creates an alternative form of energy; biogas which will be used for cooking and lightning. Benefits of the use of biogas instead of fuel wood is that the emission of CO 2 will be reduced and deforestation will be decreased. As part of the intervention, SHF intends to build capacity in hygiene and maintenance of the facilities to the school community to ensure sustainability of the project. At the moment we finished the drawings and bills of quantities for the project and are negotiating with a contractor. We hope to start building soon.
Start building activities Oloika
After meetings with the school management committee to discuss the needs and possibilities of the girls’ dormitory we jointly decided to build a matron’s house instead of a new toilet block. The pit of the current latrine will be closed, and the existing toilets upgraded, reconnecting them to a sustainable biodigester. We will also add taps for hand washing, drinking water and doing laundry. The biogas will be used for cooking and the effluents for watering trees. Thanks to a contribution of the Triodos Foundation and donations collected at two weddings Solid House Foundation and partners started the activities last December. Opening of the facilities is planned for March 2011.
Future vision
After the realisation and evaluation of this project, SHF will undertake similar interventions in other schools (see School-WASH programme) to develop and refine the concept further.
EDUCATING A GIRL IS EDUCATING A COMMUNITY (Maasai proverb)
