Sanitation and Hygiene Facilities at St Stephen Ichuni Mixed Secondary School
The water supply, sanitation and hygiene facilities at St. Stephen Ichuni Mixed Primary School are insufficient. Engineers Without Borders Kenya (EWB Kenya) was requested by Rotary Club of Davis, Sunrise, California through Susan Moenga (+1 530 302-7263) to offer Technical Assistance for the Feasibility Study, Detailed Design and Construction Supervision of Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Facilities at St. Stephen Ichuni Mixed Primary School.
The organization envision a society in which all the people have the capacity to sustainably meet their basic human needs. The request fits into EWB Kenya mission NUMBER 1: Providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene to the underprivileged
Project Background
Ichuni Boys Primary School is a mixed public school in Kisii County, Kenya with sixteen (16) staff members and about 513 pupils. With that population at school, they have inadequate supply of clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.
The school is located in Kisii County and lies on Latitude 000 47’33.36’’ S and Longitude 340 56’ 42.70’’ E. The school can be accessed through trunk road B3 from Nairobi through Narok.
The Surrounding environs are hilly and rolling. The school lies at an Altitude of between 6996 to 7011 feet above sea level.
The climate in the area is mainly humid type, with a bi-modal rainfall pattern. Long rains are experienced in March to July while short rains occur in August to October. The main source of rainfall over Ichuni region is the Lake Victoria. It occurs in form of either convectional or frontal rainfall. The mean annual rainfall ranges between 1100 and 2700 mm. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures in the area are given as 27oC and 15oC respectively. Evaporation is relatively low and increases from less than 1400 mm to 1800 mm per year.
The Kisii area is occupied by mainly the Precambrian rocks. Basalts are the major rocks in the school.
The whole area drains into Lake Victoria. Springs, Wetlands and small streams occur in the area.
From observation of water from the various springs in the Ichuni area, groundwater quality is generally good in colour, turbidity, odour and taste.
The school is mainly covered by laterites hence making it hard for deep hand excavation for the latrines. These might be case as we have vast decommissioned latrines in the school.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy in Kisii and Ichuni community, therefore, agriculture and rural development sector is considered as the main productive sector in the area. It is a rich agricultural area with diverse agro-ecological zones, which include forest, tea (plate 3), and sugarcane. The main food and fodder crops grown include maize (plate), beans, Napier grass etc.
Project Background
The school has 16 staff members and 542 pupils composed primary pupils, ECDE children and pupils with specials needs. Table 1 shows the categories. The categories are key in designing the sanitation facilities.
Challenges Faced by the School Due to Status of Sanitation
The challenges experienced by the school due to status of water and sanitation include:
- The likelihood of being shut down due to insufficient sanitation facilities by the Health Inspectors
- High rate of disease spread due to poor solid waste disposal within the school. This is evident with the fact that there are no sufficient latrines which can sufficiently and effectively serve the school.
Proposed solutions for improved sanitation facilities
The main proposed improvements of the sanitation facilities in the school may include:
- Design and construction of appropriate ecological sanitation facilities (VIP Latrines) to effectively collect and safely dispose the wastes from the school.
- Establish a proper place and method of handwashing for hygiene in the school.
- Establish a proper place and method of solid waste disposal in the school.
| Country | Kenya |
| Community | Stephen Ichuni Mixed Primary School, Kisii County |
| Project | Sanitation and Hygiene |
