Travel Team Members:
Kim Slack (project manager)
Callie Blackwood
Mike Kreikemeier
Quick Overview:
Oversaw drilling of borehole at Shirali Primary School. Conducted water quality tests on several springs in the area.
Details:
Trip Itinerary and Travel Logistics
February 20th-28th
20th – Departed Bozeman for Kenya
21st – Arrived in Nairobi 8:25pm local time
Picked up by Martin Agak of (blank) and taken to hostel
22nd-25th—Safari at Masi Mara and Lake Nakuru
25th - Met with Ronald Omyounga in Nakuru to travel with us to Khwisero in a rented car from Nairobi. Due to the rough roads, dangerous driving conditions, and a flat tire, We were only able to make it to Kisumu. It took three and a half hours to buy a new tire.
26th – We woke up early and drove to Ronald’s mother’s house in Khwisero where the local team was eagerly awaiting our arrival. We visited Munyunza School and the nearby Amanya stream, and then up the road to Shirali School. It was a Sunday and school was not in session. We visited the grounds and the proposed well site at Shirali, and continued up the road to see the Africa Now hand pump.
27th – After breakfast we walked to Shirali School. We were greeted by many excited students before a brief meeting with the schools’ headmaster, Samson Apwanza and chairman, Kanoti Celestine. Next we saw some wonderful entertainment from John, Humphrey and a group of dancers and drummers, all of whom were students. Next we were introduced to the school and we presented the gifts that we brought for the schools. We were then given a tour of the grounds followed by lunch. We returned to Shirali and hung out on the playground with the students, took pictures and continued asking questions and becoming familiar with the people and the school. We went to town that night for some errands and got stuck in the mud on the way home due to heavy rain and the slippery road up to Khwisero.
28th – We had a morning meeting with the Shirali Teachers and learned a lot about the teaching methods, the subjects taught and the difficulties that they face. We were also told of many other needs that need to be met. Kim and Callie, then visited classes 3, 6, 7 and 8 for education surveys from the students. We were well received and we learned about the way that the classes worked. Mike was surveying the grounds of Shirali with members of the Khwisero team. After the education surveys Kim and Callie conducted four Health surveys in the community and we also met Tom’s family and visited Jack’s house. We also tested water sources along our way. We saw girls carrying water on their heads and we were totally impressed.
March 1st-8th
1st - This day we visited Munyunza school and met the headmaster, Daniel ¬¬¬
Amunga, and next we were once again entertained by a traditional Luhya dance before
being introduced to the school. We again presented the gifts to the school before meeting with the Munyunza teachers and surveying the grounds. Later that day we took more water samples and tested them using the water sampling kit that we brought with us.
2nd – In the morning we did Education surveys at Munyunza along with further surveying of the school grounds. Later that day we drove to Khwisero town and met with the Inyundo’s and saw one of the springs that they developed through their organization. We also saw a fish pond at the Inyundo’s house. It is their effort to begin finding a cash crop for this area. The drillers arrived and met with Fransis while the rest of us were held up with the water development project team. Then we visited the health center and did a survey with the head nurse where we were able to get some statistics about the area. Mike checked out the solar pump at the health center.
3rd - While waiting for the drillers, Kim and Callie did more water sampling and testing. Mike went to Kakamega to set up for potentially fixing the pump at the health center. He had to get some bee killer because the tank was infested with bees. He returned to the health center at night to kill the bees.
4th- We all returned to the health center to see if the pump could be fixed. Mike determined that one of the panels was ruined and needs to be replaced. We rode boda boda’s (bike taxies) back to Shirali. Then the drilling began! We went to a neighboring school to watch some soccer.
5th- Drilling continued and more water testing, health surveys and water points were gathered. There was a huge rain storm that night! Wow!
6th – We took a trip to Kakamega for a lock and chain and other errands. When we got back we had another teacher meeting at Shirali and we received gifts from Walter. Then we met with Kanoti about the setting up of the water user committee.
7th- Sad day, we drove to Nairobi, which took over 10 hours to only go 300 miles or so! We met with Benjamin in Kisumu to discuss our disappointments with the drilling process and further expectations from him. Mike left Nairobi that night, but had a meeting at the airport with the head man of the drilling company to discuss future business.
8th – Kim Francis, Ronald and Callie went around Nairobi to a few big companies to see if we could request funding. Then we left on the airplane and began the journey home.
In short we had a blast. We did not schedule enough time in the country and is advised that the next group have a longer presence in the community. There was much that was not for seen and many lessons learned.
Shirali Primary School
During the February-March trip many hours were spent at Shirali Primary School. During this time the team became familiar with the school grounds, the faculty and the students.
Shirali schools approximately 600 students while school is in session. Sessions are on for three months with one month off, beginning with January thru March on and April off, May thru July on and so on. Classes begin with pre-primary ages starting at the age of four or five and then the classes go from first through eighth form, approximately equivalent to first thru eight grades in the states.
Subjects that are studied in school are Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, Geography, Art and Language. In the first thru the fourth forms three languages are taught: Kiluhya (their mother tongue), Kiswahili (the national language) and English.
There are thirteen teachers at Shirali, four men and nine women. This leaves a student to teacher ratio of about 50:1. With this high ratio come many challenges for the teachers and the students. Students, especially the older ones, are expected to be independent and self driven for many hours of the school week. Along with this expectation students have to deal with being hungry, malnourished, and/or experiencing health issues, making it hard to concentrate, stay awake and remember what they are learning. Despite all of the hardships there are many students who excel in their studies and who show a high potential for exceeding in a higher educational setting.
Not only is there a very high student to teacher ratio, there are many partially or fully orphaned children due to HIV/AIDS. Many orphans are those students who show excellence in their school work, with the unfortunate truth that it is unlikely that they will be able to continue their education due to the high cost of education and their lack of parental support. The children of this area surprised the team with their knowledge and their enthusiasm for life and learning. There is no doubt that with opportunities these children could live up to their dreams and bring improvements back to their homes and community.
This project is one example of how one student has succeeded in bringing improvements back to his community. Prior to a well being on the grounds of the school, students had to bring water with them to school for drinking and once a week bringing more water to redo the nonpermanent floors. This necessity took many hours away from the learning time that the students could have taken advantage of, with the hope that now that there is a supply of water on the school grounds that the time can be used for learning purposes. It is the hope of Ronald and EWB-MSU that there will be other measurable benefits due to the success of this project.
There are still other needs of Shirali School that are not being met by having a well and improved sanitation facilities on the grounds. Some of these needs include:
• Permanent floors
• Lighting for the classrooms
• Improved rain catchment system
• More space for the ever growing population
Munyanza Primary School
Meeting with Munyanza School Management Committee
EWB-MSU spent March 1st at Munyanza Primary School. The team met with the school management committee after a beautiful dance performance by the students. During the meeting Kim, Callie, and Mike presented the goals of EWB-MSU to implement the drinking water and sanitation improvements. They were able to ask questions about the proposed design alternatives, and they supplied us with information regarding the availability and current pricing of local building materials.
After meeting with the school management committee, the team surveyed the grounds and conducted the Munyanza education assessment. During their time at Munyanza, the team noted that, in addition to drinking water and improved sanitation facilities, the school had many other needs, including:
• Permanent school building: Current buildings are built with the same construction technique as typical family homes—a mixture of soil, water, and cow dung is packed around a wood frame. This concrete-like mixture decays during the rainy seasons and must be replenished about every two years. The team noticed that these buildings already had severely decayed walls (Figure 5), and the major rainy season was already beginning. It should be noted that there is a partially built brick building on the grounds. However, this building is unfinished because the money granted to the management committee for the project ran out. There is also a separate brick building started on the school grounds; only the footing has been completed and the team was told that it is intended to be a church.
• Permanent flooring: The lack of permanent flooring at the school creates a dusty environment in the classrooms, which not only creates a problem for the respiratory health of the students but also provides ideal habitat for jiggers, a small biting insect that can cause painful infections in the feet of the students and teachers. To prevent dusty floors, the students spend over two hours every Friday sweeping and wetting the floors. Concrete flooring would eliminate this time-consuming chore, allowing for more time in class.
• Lighting for classrooms: The windows in the classrooms are small and only provide adequate lighting during the middle hours of the day. Strategically-designed windows or perhaps even some solar-powered lights would allow for longer study time. This is especially important for students in standards 7 and 8 while they study for their exams, hopeful for the opportunity to attend secondary school.
Drinking water
The team gathered much needed data for the future implementation of a water source at Munyanza. Prior to the trip, EWB-MSU had been considering the pumping and treating of water from a stream just downhill from the school. The team learned, however, that the land between the school and the stream was owned privately. The management committee chairman informed us of the possibility that, if developed, the proprietor could claim ownership of the water access point. The EWB-MSU team decided that the legal implications of acquiring easements and landowner permission made this alternative unfeasible. The school management committee agreed with us.
Another alternative the EWB-MSU design team has been considering is the drilling of another borehole, like the one at Shirali. Unfortunately, the survey of the school grounds indicates that there are very limited locations for such a borehole on the Munyanza premises. One reason for the few good borehole locations is simply lack of space; the placement of existing and old latrine sites limits the area considered safe for drilling. Also, the Munyanza school grounds are very small compared to Shirali. The survey also revealed that the existing latrines sit on the highest point of the Munyanza grounds. Basic hydrogeologic knowledge suggests the high likelihood of subterranean transport of contamination from these latrines to any future downslope borehole. A borehole at Munyanza is therefore not an attractive alternative either.
One possibility that was conceived during the trip was constructing a gravity-fed system from the Shirali well, so that that borehole could provide water to both schools as well as offer two access points for the community. Surveying and GPS data indicate that the two schools lie about 1.5 km apart, and Shirali sits 100 feet in elevation higher than Munyanza. The team was unable to collect much information regarding what permitting would be needed for such an operation. ??Francis suggested trying other options because of the extensive permitting required.??
Sanitation
The latrines at Munyanza are similar to those at Shirali. There are some newly constructed latrines as well as some old ones. The location of the latrines at the highest point on the school grounds is a concern to the design team, in that groundwater flow is likely downhill and across the rest of the Munyanza property. This greatly limits the possible locations of any wells on the property.
The design team discussed at length the design alternatives with the Munyanza management committee. They were receptive to the idea of composting toilets, but naturally had some concerns with maintenance and upkeep of these systems.
Baseline Health Assessment
One of the most successful ways to gauge the impact that the project has on the community is to conduct health surveys that will give the group a quantitative analysis about the general health of the surrounding community at the time that the project is implemented. Follow-up surveys will be conducted at each phase of the project to determine the impact that the project has on the health of the area.
During the trip Kim and Callie visited eight households and carried out the interviews with the women of the selected houses. Figure 11 shows a typical setting for the conduction of the assessments. A copy of the questionnaire is located in Appendix E.
The women that were surveyed taught us a lot about the health of the area. Water borne illnesses were the most common illnesses mentioned which included: malaria, dysentery, typhoid, cholera, vomiting, and diarrhea. AIDS was also mentioned as a common illness affecting the area. The women were very aware that unclean water was the leading cause of most of these diseases, and many of them said that they boil their water before using. They showed concern that due to lack of education some people in the area are unaware that unclean water causes diseases.
The main method of water retrieval in the area is sending children, girls and women out walking for a distance, can be up to 2 kilometers or more to a water source and filling up the container of water and carrying it back on top of their heads. This must be done every day several times for each household. This is a very time consuming process and many of the girls in the area have to miss education in order to fetch water.
All households in the area have a space for a garden, but most of the land is very infertile due to over-use and lack of compost or natural fertilizers. Most of the food that is eaten has to be purchased at the market, making it necessary for families to have income. Ugali, which is maize flour and water, is the staple food of the area. Many families eat ugali at every meal and if they are very fortunate they can afford to eat either chicken, beef or quail once a day or once a week. Many people are so poor that they can only afford to eat meat once a month to stay alive. Sweet potatoes, beans, rice, bananas, kale and bread are other foods that are eaten in the area. Malnutrition is a problem in the area due to a lack of a cash crop and jobs in the area, so many people struggle to eat every day.
Each house hold has its own latrine. Some, but not all, households dispose of their waste in a compost pit, but the pits also have papers and plastics in them, so they are not too useful as fertilizers for their gardens. Hand washing was said to be practiced after using the bathroom and before eating.
At the end of each survey we asked the women what their favorite part of their culture was and if there were any celebrations that they attended. Many said that the food was their favorite part of their culture. We were also informed that funeral celebrations were very important and were always very fun because people got together, brought food and celebrated the person’s life with stories, songs, and sermons.
Water Testing
Water samples were collected from the nearby water sources that households use to gather water. A sample was taken from the site, labeled, named, and taken back to be tested for various levels of minerals and bacteria. Hardness, pH, Iron, Nitrates, Alkalinity, and bacterial levels were tested using a HACH field water testing kit.
Most of the water sites that were tested were contaminated with some level of bacteria. The levels of the minerals, hardness and pH were not alarming for the samples taken.
Education Assessment
Education assessments were conducted at both schools by Callie and Kim. These assessments consisted of meeting with teaches from the schools and asking them questions about the way that school is conducted, the former circumstances and the additional needs and concerns for the schools. We learned about the subjects that are taught in the schools and about the methods that are used to teach them. We also received student scores for each class level and we are hoping to see an improvement in these scores with each visit back to the area.
We also visited the classrooms and spoke with the kids about the way that they view school and had them ask questions and make comments. Classes three thru eight were visited at both schools. We had specific questions to ask the classrooms, but there were many questions that were sporadically asked in different classes, so it would be advisable to have a questionnaire that is tailored to ask every class level a certain set of questions. It is also necessary to spend a much longer time in each classroom to allow for a more complete picture of the educational process and to gain a deeper picture of where the students are in their academic development.
Khwisero Health Center
The Khwisero Health Center is a government-built health facility. The total population of the entire Khwisero Division in 105,000 people with the health center serving a population of 35,000 people. Most people get to the health center by walking. The closest health facility is about 20 kilometers from this heath center. The clinic is staffed with five nurses and one clinical officer.
The center holds outreach clinics to help get children immunized. The immunizations that are available are TB, Polio, measles, whooping cough, Hepatitis B and tetanus. Immunizations are provided by the government, but medications have to be bought either at the health center or at the market chemist.
The total number of births in the community last year was 1443 births, with women of child bearing age at about 8440. The rainy season brings about many cases of malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea and asthma. Mosquito nets are usually provided for pregnant/nursing mothers, but were currently unavailable when we were there. The most common cause of death in the area is malaria and HIV/AIDS. All women who are pregnant are required to be tested for HIV and if positive the drugs that prevent mother to child transmission are provided free of cost. Family planning is also taught and practiced in the area and condoms are provided by the health clinic.
The solar powered well at the health center consists of a Grundfos Solartronic SA 1500 inverter/controller, a 65 volt 3 phase pump, and 14 (each) Arco model M55 solar panels. Each panel is rated at 55 watts (25 deg C). Open circuit voltage rating of each panel is 24 volts. There are 2 sets of 7 panels, each set connected in series. Then the two banks of 7 are connected in parallel. Open circuit voltage provided to the SA 1500 is 168 as designed.
Under partial sun conditions the open circuit of the panels was 133 volts. The north bank of 7 panel seemed to by OK. The south bank did not contribute the output current. One solar panel on the south bank was fried. Physically it was damaged. Electrically it was open. The inverter/controller was operating and indicated by way of leds on the front panel that the current was not sufficient to power the pump. This is consistent with the fact that only one bank was supplying current.
To repair the solar system would require:
1. At least one panel to be replaced. Might want to consider replacing the complete array since the longevity of the rest of the panels is in question.
2. Repair the earth ground wiring system. Something is not right with the way the panels and system are connected.
3. Tidy up all wires.
4. Remove bees from the water tank.
5. Clean tank. The tank is full of dirt, grass and bee hive material.
6. Replace Switch knob on the SA1500 controller.
A Power pole with wires to the Khwisero electrical power grid has been erected at the health center. One might consider replacing the pump with a 220 volt (?) AC pump if the power at the health center gets turned on. This might be less expensive and more reliable than repairing the solar powered system currently in place.