Britam Foundation, in partnership with Davis & Shirtliff, has officially commissioned two major solar-powered water projects in Murang’a County.
The beneficiary institutions are: Theri Primary School and the Murang’a School for the Hearing Impaired. They now have access to clean, reliable, and cost-effective water systems. The initiative is designed to tackle chronic water shortages that frequently disrupt learning, while simultaneously championing the adoption of clean energy in Kenyan schools.
At Theri Primary School, the new solar water system has transformed daily operations. Prior to the installation, students often had to sacrifice valuable classroom time to fetch water from nearby rivers, a chore that also exposed them to waterborne illnesses.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Theri Primary School Head Teacher Mrs. Susan Macharia expressed profound gratitude for the intervention, noting its immediate health and academic benefits.
“Now that we have access to clean water, we can prevent waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera,” Mrs. Macharia stated. “The learners can focus entirely on their studies without the worry of going to the river to fetch water to clean their classrooms.”
Beyond basic hygiene, the reliable water supply will breathe new life into practical learning. Mrs. Macharia noted that the water will directly support agricultural projects, a critical hands-on component of Kenya’s Competency-Based Education (CBE) curriculum.
The impact was equally profound at the Murang’a School for the Hearing Impaired, an institution catering to over 300 learners. The school had long battled severe water scarcity, aggravated by skyrocketing electricity bills from their previous grid-powered water pumping system.
The newly constructed solar-powered borehole has fundamentally changed the school’s financial and ecological footprint. According to the Head of Institution, Mr. Mashuria, the transition to solar energy has delivered a staggering 75% reduction in the school’s power bills.
The benefits of solar infrastructure
| Area of Impact | Before the Project | After the Project |
| Water Availability | Frequent shortages; unreliable supply | Constant, reliable access to clean water |
| Operational Cost | Heavy financial strain from electricity bills | 75% reduction in water-associated energy costs |
| Educational Value | Theoretical knowledge only | Practical, real-world example of green technology |
The initiative falls under the Britam Foundation’s flagship water program, which has already positively impacted over 90,000 learners and community members across 70 schools in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda.