Construction of Bathrooms with Flush Toilets and Washing Sink at Bacho Primary School

Volunteers found no words to describe the sanitary conditions of the school latrines.

A hole on the ground was used as a latrine by hundreds of kids every day.

The construction of children’s and teachers’ bathrooms with flush toilets with water faucets for cleaning and a large sink with several water faucets for hand washing in the middle of the school yard radically improved the hygiene conditions of children, teachers and school staff.

The project encompassed:

• Construction of girls’ bathrooms with sink for handwashing, mirrors, and 5 stalls (including stalls for disabled kids) each with a flush toilet and faucets for cleaning

• Construction of boys’ bathrooms with sink for handwashing, mirrors, 5 stalls (including stalls for disabled kids) each with a flush toilet and faucets for cleaning, and 4 urinals

• Construction of teachers’ bathrooms (so adults and children are not sharing the same bathroom) with separate sections for female and male teachers - each section with sink for handwashing, mirrors, and 2 stalls with flush toilets and faucets for cleaning, so adults and children are not sharing the same bathroom.

• Septic tank to keep the environment clean

• Construction of large sink with several faucets for hand-washing

Benefits:

• Reduction of diseases: shown by the increase in attendance rate by over 10%. Bacho now maintains an average attendance rate above 90%

• Higher school attendance and enrollment: immediately after inauguration the school saw an increase of 11.3% in student enrollment

• Improved performance on national exam to qualify for secondary school: in 2018, 96% of all Bacho students passed the National Exam, putting the school in the 3rd place among the 50 schools in the district.

Cost: The total cost of the project was $23,815.00. Just like during the construction of the school, the community was heavily involved

• producing the necessary bricks

• collecting and delivering sand to the construction site

• collecting, delivering, and crushing stones for the foundation

• providing labor

In addition to the above, the community contributed $792.00 to the cost of the project. Karimu covered the remaining $23,023.00.

Learn more about Karimu Education Program .