Ilmonchin School Sanitation Project

This project addresses a much-neglected but vital issue for school children in rural Kenya and that is the subject of provision of adequate toilet facilities in the schools.  

The simple fact is that Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) conditions in rural Kenya are a big problem. Unfortunately it remains a silent problem as cultural attitudes make it difficult to discuss the subject of toilets and hygiene at policy and community level. As a result, we have a sanitation crisis that silently gnaws at school welfare and education. Good sanitation to schools is a fundamental attribute that contributes significantly to dignity, overall well-being and even academic performance.  

It has been stated that “Clean and safe toilets help keep more girls in school and increase attendance rates. Far too many girls miss out on education just because of the lack of a clean and safe toilet”. This is all very true and a 2014 survey found that in some parts of rural Kenya less than half of schools met the standard pupil-latrine ratios for girls, and only one third of schools had a private, lockable place for girls to wash or change while at school.  

Besides inadequate toilets, the above survey also reported that even those available are poorly maintained which is also a big challenge. For instance, less than 25% of latrines had locks and only 16% were clean.  

The reasons are varied from lack of enough support from the government to low prioritization of WASH requirements which are assumed to be peripheral to learning. Most school authorities will first commit their scarce budgets to books/stationery and classrooms as the first order facilities in providing education while remaining silent or wishing away the sanitation requirements.  

In some schools teachers and pupils use the same toilets while in many others boys’ and girls’ toilets adjoin. In all these cases toilets become a source of great discomfort as it hurts the dignity of all parties concerned.  

The issue is particularly important for girls because they need more privacy especially when they reach puberty as they need appropriate, easy and discreet disposal of used sanitary items, an important provision for girls while at school. Hence low standard WASH conditions in schools may hinder girls’ ability to concentrate in class, or even to attend school during their periods, or at worst to drop out of school completely.