Water Blogged

Kitelewasi Secondary School is located in the village of Lundamatwe in Tanzania. There are currently 547 students enrolled at the school and 30 teachers/staff members. The school has two dormitories for girls and a small kitchen on campus. Most of the teachers live on campus as well. The school is currently expanding due to the increase of children in the village.

BEFORE:
Students were forced to walk a minimum of two kilometers, multiple times daily, to fetch water from various unsafe sources around the village. Students typically spent more time fetching water and recovering from waterborne illness than they did in the classroom or studying. It’s often not safe for the students to walk around the village, especially at night, and there were many children who dropped out of school.

AFTER:
Our implementing partner, St. Paul Partners, installed an electric pump to the salvageable well and piped water throughout the school grounds. The school had already purchased a 2,000 L tank and constructed a 2.5 m tower near the high point of the grounds. The school is connected to the electric grid and paid a small fee for the extension of the electric lines to connect the grid to the pump. This investment shows that the school is committed to this project and the difference it will make. The implementation of this water system at Kitelewasi Secondary School will have a very positive impact on the education of its students as well as the surrounding village. The water this well will supply far exceeds the demand of just the school, it will also be possible for villagers around the school to get water for a fee. This will contribute to the sustainability of the water system, as the school will have income for any necessary maintenance and repair in the future.

Thanks to The Haverford School, PA for supporting this project!