Isanjiro Primary School, Western Kenya

There are 1,000 day students, 415 boarding students, and 64 staff members at Isanjiro Primary School who do not have access to safe, sufficient water to meet their daily needs. The school has access to piped water and a community spring, but both options provide more problems than solutions.

The municipal piped water, channeled into the school’s rainwater tank, is costly and sporadic, only available when the water flows, not in the dry season.

Collecting water from the community spring requires students and teachers to leave the school campus and make the tiring journey across difficult terrain to the waterpoint. Once they arrive, they vie for a place in line and waste more time waiting to collect water, since the spring is shared with community members. This task steals precious time away from learning.

The boarding students who live at the school feel the lack most profoundly. They need water to drink, prepare food, bathe, wash their clothing, and clean their living quarters. Water has to be severely rationed, making personal hygiene difficult and daily life burdensome.

"The population at the waterpoint makes fetching water long. Our school is highly populated, and so when we are sent out for water, we wait for so long in [the] queue. Because of my small body size, people take advantage of it, and often, I'm pushed back of the queue at the water source by those who feel they deserve to fetch water first," said 10-year-old boarding student Arthur.

Arthur has hopes for the future, but he will need access to sufficient water for his dreams to come true.

"As an enthusiastic student, I look forward to holding a degree in the field of medicine, and this is fueled by my consistency in attending, actively participating in classes, and actively participating in the school health club," concluded Arthur.

Installing a borehole well with a hand pump will enable students and teachers to access water whenever needed throughout the year, right outside their classrooms, instead of wasting valuable learning time.

Drew University: Isanjiro Primary School, Western Kenya