Student Movement for Real Change

Kenya 2006 - 2009

 Keep Clicking

In 2006 Lily Muldoon, then president of the

SMRC chapter at Pomona College, decided to
personally take on the challenges facing
Kenyan communities due to the lack of access
to clean water.
 Before studying abroad in the spring of 2006 through
the School for International Training Coastal Cultures
and Swahili Language program she approached Saul
Garlick, the SMRC Executive Director, to present the
idea of initiating SMRC’s next development projects in
Kenya.
For four months, Lily toured the Kenyan coast, taking
advantage of any opportunity to visit rural
communities and to interview people about their water
use and to scout potential projects.
 Lily knew where she was ready to work when she
discovered Kayafungo. Kayafungo is a location about
50km northwest of the port city of Mombasa.
 There, she found women who had walked 6km to collect brown
water from a dam teeming with parasites. In the community,
the incidence of disease was extremely high and children
died prematurely due to the unclean and unsanitary
conditions.
Amani holds a clear
water bottle full of
his daily ration of
drinking water
Nzoweni Dam, the only water source
for 1,000 people in Kayafungo
 Lily stayed in Kayafungo for a full month, living
with families, collecting water with the women and
enduring their hardships.
 Prior to her arrival, the community had collectively
written a proposal for a water pipeline as the solution to
their dire water situation. Lily worked with the leaders
on finalizing the proposal and returned to the United
States with pictures of their condition, stories of the
hardship and an idea for a solution.
Lily returned in 2007 with Saul and a team of engineers from
Engineers Without Borders at Washington State University to
do an engineering survey and capacity development within the
community.
 In 2008, the Kenyan Government built a 1,500m3Ferro-cement
tank to store water for distribution to the community. SMRC
was encouraged by the government’s initial efforts and
pledged to raise funds to build distribution lines from the
tank to reach 36,000 people in Kayafungo. However, due to
technical constraints and government failure to meet its
obligations, the tank remains empty and SMRC is pursuing
other water solutions.
A picture of Mwijo Tank, built by the Kenyan Government,
which is currently empty.
 Just after Kenya was side-stepping civil war caused by
contested presidential elections at the beginning of 2008,
Lily returned to Kenya with a Fulbright Scholarship to
pursue additional SMRC development projects.
Read about the projects accomplished between
April 2008 and March 2009

Kwa Choga Dam Excavation

 Due to the rise in population and prolonged drought, the
people in KatsanganiCommunity in Kayafungo were desperate
for water. In response to the growing crisis, SMRC
provided relief to the water situation by expanding the
dam while at the same time offering money for work by
community members.
 In February 2009, before the start of the rainy season, SMRC
contributed a total of $8,285 to hire the community to
excavate half an acre of soil and create an embankment to
capture rainy season downpours. The dam is expected to serve
900 people daily.
Women carrying water near the Kwa
Choga Water Dam can be seen in
the distance before construction.

Over 200 people use axes and

hoes to excavate the dam.
Ted Couch, the Deputy Project
Director who initiated the dam
project, joins the community in
their efforts to construct a dam
by carrying rocks on his back
along the embankment.

The Kwa Choga Water Dam fills

with water after one rain.
Roof Rainwater Catchment Systems

In February 2009, with the support of donors and H2O for Life,
SMRC installed two 5,000-liter plastic tanks and gutters to
collect rainwater from the roof of Gogoraruhe Primary School.
 Students are now able to stay in school longer
because they do not need to collect water daily.
This project also improves the health of the
students and teachers because the water is fresh and
clean.
 This roof rainwater catchment system project is used as a
pilot project by SMRC. It is carefully monitored with both
daily and weekly logs kept by the school headteacherto
determine the efficacy of rainwater catchment systems on
the ability to provide an additional water supply in
school. If successful, SMRC has plans to replicate this
system across schools in Kayafungo.
A rainwater catchment system
at Gogoraruhe Primary School

collect water from the tank

after a heavy rain.
Latrines

In addition to enduring a lasting water crisis, community

members in Kayafungo suffer from poor health and
sanitation facilities. The vast majority of schools and
households do not have proper latrines for waste
disposal. Not one school in Kayafungo meets even half of
the minimum standard of latrines set by the Ministry of
Health. Additionally, most people do not understand
healthy behavior practices.
A latrine at Gogoraruhe Primary School used by over 200
students. The latrine lacks privacy or safe structural
support and is a danger to student safety.
 In order to reduce parasitic infestation and worms and to
increase school attendance for girls, SMRC and Rotary
International constructed 14 four-door ventilated improved
pit (VIP) latrines in eight primary schools, five nursery
schools and at the Gotani Health Clinic.
Finished 4-door latrine replicated at 14
institutions in Kayafungo.
Hand-washing

Recognizing the importance of hand-washing with soap for the

reduction of disease, SMRC installed a total of 20 hand-
washing stations at the sites of latrine construction. The
hand-washing stations were specially designed to support a
school with 80-liter tanks, two taps and wastewater
collection basins. Example of the 20 hand-washing stations
installed.
Health, Hygiene & Sanitation Workshops

From September to December 2008, SMRC worked with the

community to conduct a series of four 10-day workshops
with 160 participants from the Kayafungo. Health
facilitators from the Muthaa Community Development
Foundation (MCDF) led the workshops.
Topics included:
Personal hygiene (Hand-washing,
bathing, dental hygiene).
Common diseases (Water and hygiene
related diseases and prevention,
worms).
Nutrition (Balanced diets, nutrients
found in local foods, best
preparation of foods, malnutrition).
HIV/AIDS (Understanding the disease,
causes and prevention measures
including use of both female and male
condom, relationship between HIV/AIDS
and TB, how to live positively, home-
based care, ARVs).
Water treatment.
Latrine Construction (Identification
of locally available materials, types
of soils, construction methods).
Waste water disposal.
Ecological alternatives in sanitation
(Refuse disposal).
First Aid.
Trainer of Trainers (TOT) - Training
skills in the community.
Workshop participants are now Community Health Trainers
and have the responsibility to train others in the
community and in the schools on better health
practices.
Emily Karechio, the lead health
facilitator from MCDF, lectures women
on household water filtration
techniques.

Workshop participants observe

how to build a standard latrine.
HIV/AIDS

During the health workshops, SMRC staff learned that most

community members did not know about HIV/AIDS in general or
their status in particular. In partnership with the
Ministry of Health, World Vision and Youth Alive, SMRC
hosted two mobile Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT)
days in October and November 2008. In total 332 people came
to the events and the counselors tested 131 people.
A local youth group mobilizes the community
to get tested and performs skits and songs
to create awareness about HIV/AIDS.
Health Celebration Day

On December 13, 2008 SMRC hosted a Health

Celebration Day with over 1,000 people from the
community. All 160 Community Health Trainers
graduated and were issued a certificate and
official t-shirt.
 The Chief from Kayafungo, four assistant chiefs, the
development councilor, SMRC volunteers, Rotarians,
Rotaractorsand journalists attended. Special guests
included the area’s Member of Parliament, Samwel Kazungu
Kambi (equivalent to a US Senator) and the District
Commissioner, Fredrick Ayeiko (equivalent to a state
Governor).
160 Community Health Trainers graduate from our Health,
Hygiene & Sanitation Workshop Series proudly donning
their new t-shirts.
 Samwel Kazungu Kambi, the Area Member of
Parliament, speaks at the graduation thanking
SMRC for improving health in the region.
Community Health Trainer Program

During our Community Health Trainer (CHT) program in

February 2009, selected CHTs from each sub-location
trained pupils in every school where we installed
hand-washing stations. The CHTs explained to the
students the reasons they should wash their hands, how
often to do it, and the best technique to ensure
effectiveness.
Education Problem

Most schools in Kayafungo are short of enough classrooms or

desks for their students. Students learn to write by
practicing letters with sticks in the sand. Classes are
taught under trees and pen and paper is a rarity. Children
that do go to school sit on stones instead of chairs in
many cases.
Secondary school is not option. In Kayafungo, there are
two secondary schools but both require boarding and the
fees that are too high for most pupils. With only an
eighth grade education, children finish school and
return to work on the farm or live a life without
employment opportunities.
A typical Kayafungo classroom. The stones indicate
where children sit during their class sessions.
 When schools are lucky to be sheltered, the buildings are
often in disrepair. Here the teacher writes on the cement
wall rather than a proper blackboard to teach introductory
mathematics.
Gogoraruhe Primary School

When SMRC and Rotary built a latrine at Gogoraruhe School,

Lily Muldoon, project director, was shocked to learn that
classes were being held underneath a tree and in an
unfinished building without a roof. In honor of Lily’s late
Aunt Madalyn, the Bloom family contributed to build two
classrooms, an office and to furnish the school with desks.
In just one week after opening, school attendance jumped
from 100 pupils to 258.
Gogoraruhe Primary School
is under construction.
All unskilled labor was
donated by the community.

Gogoraruhe Primary School is

completely built, painted and
includes a rainwater catchment
system and a safe latrine.
 Due to the lack of funds from the government and other
sources, students were forced to sit on stones during
school. To create a more conducive learning environment,
SMRC built 60 student desks and furnished the head
teacher’s office and staff room with tables, desks,
bookshelves and a cupboard.
 A box of school supplies from Gogoraruhe exhibits the
dearth of materials prior to SMRC involvement with the
school. The box was the entire inventory of materials at
the school at the time. SMRC provided chalk, notebooks,
pens, paper for up to 300 pupils.
 Grade 1 students learn in a new
classroom, sitting at desks and using
pens and paper to take notes.
Mwijo Secondary Day School

Before SMRC began working in Kayafungo, the location did

not have a non-boarding secondary school. Because all of
the secondary schools in Kayafungo required boarding, most
students could not attend because of the associated school
fees. In February 2009, SMRC built a classroom and
teacher’s office to initiate the development of Mwijo
Secondary Day School.
Ted Couch, deputy project director, shows off the
beginning of school construction.
Afya Bora Clinic

Without electricity or running water, the government

funded Gotani Health Dispensary struggles to provide
proper health care to the thousands of people it serves.
A barren structure, inadequate supplies and
inaccessibility hamper patients’ ability to receive
necessary medical attention.
 SMRC is partnering with World Wide I.m.p.a.c.t and the
Kayafungo Community Nurse, Mourine Masha, to develop a
private clinic called Afya Bora (“good health” in Swahili).
AfyaBora will provide advanced medical services not
currently offered in Kayafungo location. These services
include a blood testing lab, maternity ward and family
planning unit. Once funding is available, Mourinewill also
buy a refrigerator and provide vaccines.
accumulation of the dispensary’s medical supplies and
inadequate waste disposal for hazardous materials.
The new Afya Bora Clinic is
seen with Lily Muldoon in the
foreground.

Mourine Masha, the Community

Nurse, inside her new health
clinic.