Last week, Vivo Energy Kenya unveiled a water project at Sihay Primary School in Siaya County. The primary school is located in Ugenya sub county. Neighbouring the school is Sihay Secondary School.
For a long time the source of water for the 2 schools and the neighbouring community, within a 3Km radius, was a single borehole located within the primary school. The pump operating the borehole required one to manually draw water. The 29 year old borehole was sunk in 1988 under the Kenya/Finland Co-operation water programme famously known as KEFINCO.
The borehole was a vital part of the community as it never dried up even during the dry season. Over the years, the pump had become fragile due to wear. The increase in population also brought about an increase in demand for water. The was therefore need to find a more efficient way of drawing water.
Sihay Primary School water committee approached Vivo Energy Kenya, with a proposal of upgrading the hand pump system to a solar powered semi–urban piped water system. The upgrade reduces the time spent queuing for water and pumping it. This allows the community to engage in other economic activities. For the students, the learning environment will be more conducive as there’s less foot traffic throughout the day from people coming to fetch water.
Aside from being a time saver, water from the borehole will be less prone to contamination. The water will be drawn from a tap reducing the risk of infection from water borne diseases.
The upgraded water project consists of three 20 ft water towers each holding a 10,000L water tank. The water towers will be located at the secondary school, at the District Officer’s office and at the primary school. A water kiosk will also be set up away from the school compound for the community to fetch water from. All the water used will be pumped from the borehole and directed to the water towers.
In order to maintain the pump, the community will have the option of having piped water supplied to their homes for a fee.
