Klis Primary School

There is an old, hand-dug well on campus, but it was contaminated from the start and has run dry for over a year. Sometimes, the nearby village gives water to the school to fill up their large, ceramic jars. But most days, students simply bring water from home. “It is difficult because there is no water to wash our hands,” Srey said. “When my books get smudged from dirty hands, my teachers become mad.”

There are two toilets at Klis Primary, one for students and one for teachers. The lines are so long for the student bathroom that the expectation is for most students to go outside in the fields that surround the school. This is not only an unsanitary and unsafe environment for students, but one that keeps older girls from attending school while menstruating each month. Srey’s teacher, Mrs. Peery, said, “Lacking water and bathrooms contributes to students dropping out of school.” Srey, the kind girl that she is, says she is always concerned about the flowers around campus that suffer when there is no water.

You can help Srey’s and others at Klis Primary School by providing health training, menstrual hygiene management curriculum, permanent and sanitary bathrooms on school grounds, plus a new, safe water source just steps from the classroom. Our implementing partner, Lifewater International, works alongside parents, teachers, and administrators to ensure the students of today and tomorrow have a path out of poverty.