A WELL-SPRING OF HOPE AT AKAIGA PRIMARY
Every day, 343 students attend Akaiga Primary School in our Mikinduri sponsor site. It’s not uncommon to see children arriving with buckets and jerry cans full of water. At Akaiga, if children want to drink or wash, they have to bring water with them.
“Since the school is not connected to any water supply, the children drink the rainwater collected from the rooftops,” says Carolyne, Mikinduri site director. “But during the dry season, the tanks run dry. For the dry periods, children are expected to carry water to school for both drinking and cleaning.” This task falls disproportionately to girls and women, taking them away from their studies or livelihoods.
The trouble is, the water they’re carrying might not be clean. And a dearth of water is making hand hygiene and lavatory sanitation nearly impossible. The teachers are seeing a steep rise in absenteeism because the children are sick with waterborne illnesses such as dysentery, cholera, and typhoid.
"The children and staff are forced to use filthy washrooms," Carolyne says. “The problem is further exacerbated by lack of proper handwashing facilities, putting children and teachers in danger of communicable diseases.” These diseases can be recurrent and require costly medication. The children’s health suffers, as do their grades, and their parents struggle to afford the necessary medicine.
“The need for clean water has never been more urgent.”
In response, the Mikinduri sponsor site and Chalice are partnering with the school to drill a 130m - 160m deep borehole well in the Akaiga school compound. The borehole will provide access to clean and safe drinking water to over 1000 community members including 343 children in school, 17 members of staff, and parents of the school. The solar-powered pump will pipe water to multiple taps and access points on the school property for all its various uses. The borehole will also provide water to households and farms in the community, which will improve crop health, livelihood, and food security.