Goal achieved!
Together, we are creating healthier school environments where children can learn and thrive!
Rahim Lakhoo makes history for 8,000 children in Kenya.
Would you send your children to a school where they have no choice but to quench their thirst with water contaminated by potentially-lethal bacteria and parasites? This is the reality faced by boys and girls in Kenya where fewer than 40% of primary schools have safe water sources in or near the school yard. What’s amazing is that with a relatively small investment this situation can be dramatically improved. Together, we can create healthier school environments where children can learn and thrive!
Here are some of the children these funds will help…
Campaign Goal $75,000: Achieved!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to Rahim’s campaign!
Congratulations to Rahim on a successful campaign. WaterAid is deeply appreciative of Mr. Rahim Lakhoo’s leadership on this campaign. Thank you for sharing our vision of a world where everyone, everywhere has access to safe water and sanitation.
Rahim Lakhoo and Margaret Trudeau – WaterAid Canada’s Honorary President.
The need
Ensuring students are able to get an education in a safe learning environment is an important first step to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Kenya, like most East African countries, has adopted a policy of free Universal Primary Education (UPE) in recognition of the importance of education in supporting local poverty reduction efforts. As a consequence, school enrolment has skyrocketed and the government is left struggling to train enough teachers and build new schools to keep up with the demand.
Unfortunately, the importance of providing safe water, basic sanitation and hygiene education at schools has been overlooked. Without access to safe water and sanitation, students and teachers alike are less likely to attend schools. Without hygiene education, disease and illness spread rapidly.
The lack of water and sanitation also affects the quality of education because the best teachers are less willing to work at schools that don’t offer drinking water and hygienic toilets. Consequently, the lack of quality education furthers the pervasive cycle of poverty that only education can break. With 49% of the population aged 15 or under, this lack of vital facilities is having a huge impact on the future development of Kenya. Ensuring students are able to get an education in a safe learning environment is an important first step to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Kenya Fact File
- 10,000 children die every year from avoidable diarrhea in Kenya.
- 16.5 million people have no clean water.
- 30.4 million people do not have a safe place to go to the toilet.
- 63% of primary schools do not have adequate sanitation.
- Average life expectancy is 61 years.
Lack of clean water and sanitation facilities at schools present a huge barrier to education.
Performance: When children are thirsty or dehydrated, their concentration is greatly affected – they become weak, sleepy and can suffer from headaches.
Attendance: A school without safe water and toilets leads to children suffering from diarrheal diseases, and missing vital lessons and school days.
Girls’ Education: Without private toilets, many adolescent girls will avoid school during menstruation, leading to high absenteeism, low educational attainment and high dropout rates.
School Environment: Schools with poor water, hygiene and sanitation are high risk environments, with open defecation and dirty water being key causes of diarrhea and intestinal parasites.
Teachers: Schools without water and sanitation facilities can find it harder to recruit experienced teachers, meaning that the quality of education can be affected. Female teachers, like their students, are less likely to attend school during menstruation if the school lacks adequate facilities.
Project updates:
The plan
Basic toilets separate human waste from daily contact, helping to create a healthy school environment.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to Rahim Lakhoo’s “Pledge to Be a Hero” campaign! You are playing a vital role in transforming the future prospects of 8,000 students attending primary schools in Nairobi, and the Siaya and Kisumu Districts of Kenya.
Supported by WaterAid Canada’s International Program team based in Canada, our two Kenyan partner organizations, KWAHO and SANA, will undertake the following key activities:
Earlier this year I visited some of WaterAid Canada’s projects for primary schools in Kenya and was very impressed with what I saw. The harvesting of rain water to provide clean drinking water and the provision of toilets will provide these children with some of the basic necessities of a healthy life and will go a long way in helping them pursue their education. I will not forget watching them drink clean fresh water with obvious delight.
Rahim Lakhoo
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