Partnering in Kenya

Most parts of Kajiado receive little or no rain annually. Adults and children walk for many miles in search of water for drinking, for household use, and for their animals. Usually, the water is highly contaminated.

Our group, from Saanich Baptist Church in British Columbia, Canada, visited Enkereyian primary school, located near Lake Magadi, deep in Kajiado district.

The deputy-head teacher, Paul Njuaine, told us about the lack of water in the area: "The nearest (ground) source of water is 18 miles away, at the natural springs beyond the hills. Fortunately, our school has a rainwater-harvesting tank behind the classes, however, the water is not clean for drinking and some of our students fall ill from typhoid and cholera. But, after your stay, here with us today we hope to purify it using SODIS (solar disinfection)."

Lack of enough, and even clean water in Kajiado has led to outbreaks of cholera, typhoid and other water borne diseases that leave a wake of death behind them. Many families in developing countries can attest to this fact, as the situation is common and many in the community are affected.

Saanich Baptist Church’s team ensured that 10 schools in Kenya’s Kajiado district now had knowledge on how they could easily avoid water borne diseases like Cholera and typhoid. Working through The Water School and Christian Mission Aid, the team not only built tables for solar disinfection, but also taught over 5000 students the easy, safe, and natural way to disinfect water using the sun.

Stephene Ole Sentero from Oloirien shared on how his school has benefited from the Ray of Hope program for the last year: "Our local health officer told us that there is a reduction in the cases of water borne diseases like cholera and typhoid among our students. This is good news for us as it means that fewer students miss school because of such diseases."

Cholera is a diarrhea disease whose causing agents are found in contaminated water. Children as well as adults can get infected. Among those infected, about 20 percent develop acute diarrhea, of which 10-20 percent develop severe diarrhea with vomiting. Cholera is usually transmitted through faecally-contaminated water or food. Typhoid, like Cholera, is transmitted through the ingestion of food or drink contaminated by the faeces or urine of infected people.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends improvements in water supply and sanitation as the most sustainable approach for protecting against cholera and other waterborne epidemic diarrhea diseases.

Such an approach is unrealistic for many of the impoverished populations most affected. An easy natural method, like using the sun for water purification, comes in handy in such cases.

At Oloorsirko School, we were told of a recent outbreak of cholera in the neighboring Rongai town where most of the children reside. "So many of our students fell sick and missed school," said a teacher. With (solar disinfection), we are sure that such outbreaks will be a thing of the past.

In Canada, the only thing consumers need to know about their water supply is how to pay their bill or call a plumber if there is a leak. However, a family in Kajiado with a latrine needs to know a tremendous amount like how to build the latrine and maintain it. In most cases, such a family relies on water from rivers or dams where their latrines drain, thus the spread of water borne diseases. It was evident from the lessons, conducted by part of our team in the classrooms, that students embraced SODIS for its important and life-saving message.

The head teacher of Isinya primary school summarized the excitement this way: "Water is a precious commodity, yet clean drinking water is too expensive for the poor to afford in Kenya. Yet it should be free for all." He then chided his students, "Now, I hope our battles over the water tap will stop. We will not waste water any more because you each have received a water bottle for solar disinfection."

Introducing the program into the health education of schools is key. Pupils take what they have learned at school back to their homes and are followed up by project staff to ensure proper knowledge transfer. The Water School is looking to reach over 1 million of the poorest people in this region of Kenya with life-saving solar disinfection training and supplies. Saanich Baptist Church is pleased to partner with them in making this dream a reality.