Having access to water on-site provides schools with the opportunity to grow and to try new things. In this story we see what new endeavours a water tank has enabled at Ngomeni Primary School, Kenya.

Ngomeni Primary School is a public day school found in the village of Ngomeni, near Mbuvo in Makueni County. The area is arid, and has suffered a lack of access to basic amenities such as clean water.

The school, which is an integral part of the local community, has suffered numerous water challenges. This has significantly affected its aspirations to become a centre of academic excellence in the region.

The school was supported by the Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF), in collaboration with Excellent and funded by the States of Guernsey Overseas Aid and Development Commission, to construct a water tank in a bid to address the challenge of water scarcity. The tank has now held water for the past year for the school community. A visit to the school was met with joy as pupils and staff enjoyed having access to water in school.

Josephine King’oo has been the school head teacher for the last four years. She shares the transformation she has witnessed since the project was implemented: “The school now enjoys an unlimited supply of clean water from the water tank, which has enabled us to sustain the feeding program without involving pupils and parents in bringing water to school.”

She goes on to describe how they plan to make further use of the water supply:

“We are planning to start a vegetable garden, agro-forestry plot, and to irrigate crops and trees using water from the tank.”

Josephine King'oo, Head Teacher at Ngomeni Primary School.

Mrs King’oo explains that “This will aid in changing eating habits, as well as working towards a healthy school community through balanced diets.”

As well as enabling new activities, the water supply has also contributed to a better standard of education at the school: “Again, cases of absenteeism have significantly reduced as pupils now enjoy the journey to school without carrying water. There are also increased concentration levels in class as pupils are less tired compared to the past era of carrying water to school” says Mrs King’oo.

Mwongela Sammy, 11, has been a pupil at the school for the last six years, he shares his experiences at the learning centre:

“We no longer carry water to school. We also have unlimited access to clean drinking water from the facility which has made life more fun for us.”

Mwongela Sammy, Student of Ngomeni Primary School.

The school community is thankful to the States of Guernsey Overseas Aid and Development Commission, ASDF and Excellent for their support in helping them achieve access to adequate clean water through the water tank project.

Could you donate today and supply more communities with the tools, hardware, support and guidance they need to transform their own lives with lifelong access to clean water?