3. The SWASH+ project had offered to
address the crippling water supply and
sanitation issues of this school in Kenya
by installing a borehole, building new
latrines and providing training to
teachers and pupils.
4. However, the project
required that schools
come up with 10 percent
of the costs in cash or
through donated materials
and labor.
Head teacher Mildred
Ochung noted that parents
in this community were
uncooperative with this
request.
“The few other communities I’ve worked in are
not as negative as this one,” she says.
5. So the school had
to come up with
another recipe for
success: the
students, a few
parents, and a plan
for rigorous
maintenance
6. The school management helped the
students make trapezoidal blocks for
lining their latrine pits
Girls were as much a
part of the effort as boys.
“The girls were excited
that they were able to
make blocks just like the
boys,” says Ochung.
7. Not all parents were uncooperative
“There were two parents who came to assist
and the chairman of the school was here every
day,” notes Ochung. “He also made bricks with
us and gave food to the children.”
8. SWASH+ research shows that poor facility
maintenance makes students much less likely to
use their latrines.
But St. Christopher had been particularly
successful in maintaining clean latrines.
The school has two teachers that are trained in
hygiene and sanitation, health clubs that
attend to the facilities, and duty rosters for
maintenance
9. Whereas students had previously
collected water from a murky pond
near the school premises, having clean
water readily available has made a
difference for the school in many ways.
“The pupils come from very far, so they
use water to pour on the floor and wash
their hands and legs. Also, they are not
as tired because they are not thirsty...”
10. The school has also found a way to get
contributions from the community after
all—Community members pay 1
Kenyan shilling each time they collect
water from the school’s borehole,
money used to maintain the facilities.
11. SWASH+ is a five-year applied research project to
identify, develop, and test innovative approaches to
school-based water, sanitation and hygiene in Nyanza
Province, Kenya.
The partners that form the SWASH+ consortium are CARE,
Emory University, the Great Lakes University of Kisumu, the
Government of Kenya, the Kenya Water for Health
Organisation (KWAHO), and Water.org (formerly Water
Partners).
Visit us online at:
www.swashplus.org
