Community Development Entrepreneurs were trained to install rainwater harvesting systems at the school and will sell low cost, high quality RWH units to the surrounding community.
Narrative
The construction of the RWH system at Sam's Memorial Primary school was one of the very first projects we completed as a team. It was a learning process for us as well as the school and community. John Bokuru our resident ACI filter builder or C.D.E (community development entrepreneur) worked with the team for the three days of construction. He learned how to use the power tools that we brought over from the states as well as the value of taking your time, measuring twice and cutting once. John told us on the last day of construction that he "had never thought his working with ACI would lead him to be able to provide rain water systems to his community". Since the construction of the ACI system is a little different from the commonly accepted practice of RWH here in Kenya we had a challenge breaking through the stereotypes of common practice that existed here before. After those stereotypes were broken down, after the project was finished and the final product presented, the community was very receptive to our construction style.
Sustainability
Creating and measuring long-term impact
Operating under the assumption that our RWH system will be able to last for a very long time due to the quality materials used as well as construction techniques. The only point of ware will be the screw cap on the first flush system and the silicone joints. The silicone we used is said to be able to withstand harsh conditions so our assumption is that once a year the system may need a reapplication of silicone in certain areas. One tube of this silicone costs about 3 dollars, the school can be expected to be able to accept this cost due to the overall greater good a properly functioning system will provide to the school. Our CDE's and CHP's (community health promotor) will also be visiting the schools on a regular basis, at least two times a month for the school clubs. During these visits they will be checking on the RWH system to make sure it is being used properly and still functioning well.
Other Issues
Unusual and unexpected issues faced during project execution
One challenge of working in schools is the amount of attention that you receive from the children. As we all know children are curious little creatures and sometimes that curiosity can put them into dangerous positions or situations. The entire teams fluency in mother tongue (kisii, a bantu language in this case) went up by leaps and bounds to try and control the mob of children that would collect under the ladders during break time.
Learnings
Knowledge of project and process for sharing
If you or your organization is planning on constructing a RWH system it is very important that you make sure you have a proper and fully equipped tool set. There is nothing worse than getting to your site and realizing that you are missing something. I suggest building a few practice systems with the core members of the team at a site that is close to your supply area. Also it is very important to make sure the materials you are going to be using are all there and you have the proper number of each. On this particular job we were underprepared for the twists the roof through at us and had to run back to town twice to gather the proper tools. This slowed down our work and made us look unprofessional.
Impact
People Impacted: 230
People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 230
There are 220 students at this school. In conjunction with our water filter program all 220 will be able to receive clean drinking water everyday. The other 10 people are teachers and Aqua Clara representative that work in or around the school.
School Children Getting Water: 228
220 of these individuals are children, ranging in age from 4 to 13. The other 8 are the teachers and support staff.
People Getting Sanitation: 230
All individuals in this school will now have an easier time of filling the hand washing stations provided at the school by Aqua Clara.
People Getting Other Benefits: 2
These individuals are our representatives who work around the school. We have made a considerable effort to train both representatives on the importance of high quality construction of RWH systems. They will now be able to inform their community of the construction style and benefits of high quality construction.
