Guest Post: Providing Schools With Clean And Safe Water: A Collaboration With Well Aware

KG Foundation Overview:

KG Foundation is a charitable trust founded in 2012 with a mission to uplift the lives of underserved children and communities by improving access to holistic education. The Foundation partners with individuals and organizations to improve the quality of education in Kenya through interventions that improve access to safe water, sanitation, nutrition, infrastructure and learning resources.

Below, they share about our partnership and its impact to date.

Access to clean water:

Water is a critically needed resource for both drinking and sanitary use in school and without adequate and reliable water supply, it is difficult to sustain a healthy learning environment for children. As per World Health Organization guidelines, each learner requires at least 5 litres of water per day for drinking, hygiene and general use. This is why our partnership with Well Aware is so vital.

Since 2019, Well Aware has implemented clean water projects at 5 of our project schools in Machakos County Kenya. These interventions have had a positive impact on the health and quality of life of the beneficiaries. Most of the children at our project schools source drinking and cooking water from community boreholes, rain water, rivers and man-made dams. This water is generally untreated and unsafe.

The following are the five project schools that have benefitted from the Well Aware rain water catchment and UV purification system:

• Katumani Primary – 333 learners
• Kitonyini Primary – 310 learners
• Kwa katheke Primary – 104 learners
• Kwa kavoo Primary – 224 learners
• Kyamuthinza Primary – 205 learners

The Well Aware clean water solution is ideal for schools because it is sustainable and low maintenance. Over 1,000 pupils now have access to clean rain water which is harvested and stored in storage tanks provided by Well Aware and treated using UV purification system. The school administration receives training on how to operate and maintain the system using the App. Feedback from the beneficiaries has been very positive. The learners and teachers are reporting that the water is odour free and does not have a chemical taste like other treatment solutions.

We are grateful for the partnership with Well Aware and look forward to even greater impact as we continue to scale water and sanitation solutions to improve the health and quality of life of underserved communities in Kenya.