Mount Kenya University Community Partnerships & Adoption of Safe Water in Rural Schools of Kenya

Project Overview

The Community Partnerships & Adoption of Safe Water in Rural Schools of Kenya initiative was established in 2021 following an award of Innovative Civic Engagement by the Talloires Network. This program was established following successful distribution of over 40,000 water backpacks, an innovative water transportation, storage and dispensing device, to communities in Machakos, Marsabit, Embu and Western Kenya. During the previous project implementation, it was observed that dispensing the water backpacks to homesteads was good but had a lower impact than distributing to primary schools where there is a high concentration of children who are most vulnerable to waterborne illnesses. One pack in a class will be used by about 50 pupils compared to homesteads where one pack would impact an average of 6 members.

The program was established by Prof. Peter G. Kirira, who was serving as the Director, Mount Kenya University Foundation. He had actively participated in the aforementioned water backpack distribution program in partnership with Partners for Care, a local Non-Governmental Organization in Kenya. He saw the need of establishing the program at the University with the following objectives. i. To provide affordable safe water devices and water treatment knowledge to primary schools pupils in Kenya, ii. To provide a structured platform where University students can participate in civic engagement activities, iii. To undertake impact assessment of the community intervention initiatives, iv. To engage and partner with community organizations and non-governmental organizations with shared values in undertaking community engagement activities, v. To mobilize resources and lobby for grassroots support of the community engagement initiatives. The program focused on schools in Marmanet Ward, Laikipia County, Kenya which is a semi-arid area with no piped source of water and the community therefore depend on unimproved water sources, such as ponds, shallow wells and rivers. The location of the study site was selected due to the need and it’s proximity to Nakuru Campus, a satellite campus of the University. The program operations are domiciled in the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Community Outreach with University students running the field operations as coordinators and research assistants under the guidance of faculty members. Prof. Peter G. Kirira, serves as the program leader and chairs program meetings. This approach has been found sustainable since students eventually leave the University at the end of their studies.

Projects Objective and goals

Diarrheal diseases are a leading cause of illness and death in Kenya, with around 88% of these fatalities linked to unsafe water, poor sanitation, and inadequate hygiene. The jerrycans commonly used by communities in Kenya for water collection and storage originate from chemical industries and are nearly impossible to clean, becoming a breeding ground for harmful germs. The program focus is on reducing waterborne diseases to vulnerable school going children through introduction of a water backpack, a safe and clean alternative to replace the jerrycans. The water backpack is easy to clean, allows for water treatment and therefore contributes towards elimination of preventable waterborne diseases. The problem of waterborne diseases in Laikipia county is documented including incidences of cholera outbreaks. Some examples include local newspapers report on water scarcity in 2021.¹ In this report, a resident Mr. Peter Kosiani reported that Ng’are Ng’iro river, their only source of water, had completely dried up leaving them to compete for the little water in the pools with wild and domestic animals.

The program was established following invitation by the area Member of County Assembly (MCA), who heads the administration of Marmanet Ward. The program inception meeting involved village elders, community health workers, the County Education Office In-Charge, religious leaders from the community and a Teachers Union member. This multi-sectoral team headed by the MCA has been the voice of the community and is involved in all decision making. The route to success of the program is anchored on success of previous studies that had shown adoption and proper utilization of the backpack in Kenyan communities² , to measure the impact of using safe water from the backpack in malnourished children enrolled in a nutritional feeding programme ³.

Project Achievements since 2021 to date

To date, approximately 50,000 pupils have consumed safe water from 1,000 water backpacks that have been installed as safe water dispensers in 66 resource-constrained public primary schools in Laikipia County, Laikipia West Sub-County, Muhotetu/Marmanet Ward in Kenya⁴. In measuring the impact of the intervention, a study titled Improving Access to Safe Water in Rural Schools of Kenya: Qualitative Multisectoral Insights has been undertaken. The study systematically evaluated and documented evidence on the barriers and facilitators in the access and adoption of safe water practices in rural schools in Laikipia County, Kenya. The findings from the study were indicative of the applicability of water backpacks in strengthening handwashing, storage, and transport of water. Facilitation elements indicated evidence of gaps in synergy between the school health and public health systems, necessitating multisectoral collaboration and social capital capacity building. Quantitative data yet to be published indicates that 91% of the pupils take water from the backpack on a daily basis. A significant drop of upto 45% in pupils’ absenteeism has been reported as well as an improvement in student performance.

The program gives 19 students an opportunity to serve the community every year. At the inception, 55 health science students were involved in the distribution and trainings. The program has enhanced the relationship between the community and students and gives them service learning opportunities. Prof. Kirira has been interviewed and reported by local newspapers and TV stations during various periods of program implementation.

Another accomplishment of the program is organization of the Talloires Network Leaders Conference 2021 (TNLC2021) at MKU. During the pre-conference meeting, over 300 University students attended and were sensitized on their role as a cog in the wheel of civic engagement at the University. At the conference, a total of 36 delegates attended while others followed through the virtual platforms.

Project student support structure

 Selected students have leadership roles where they coordinate the program and are part of the program committee hence participate in decision making. First, they are involved in distribution of the water backpacks, training the pupils & school teachers on utilization of the water backpack and treatment of water. This activity is carried out annually to take care of new pupils and teachers. The second role is in the follow-up activities with community health volunteers. These visits are important since they are able to respond to any challenges and identify gaps that may need to be addressed by the multisectoral team. Lastly, students are also involved as researchers when undertaking impact assessment research on the program. Postgraduate students are the program coordinators and they coordinate all student activities under the guidance of faculty members from the College of Health Sciences. A University program committee meets quarterly to receive and considers quarterly reports from the student coordinators. These reports are further tabled for discussion with the community multisector team on an annual basis by Prof. Peter G. Kirira who is the overall head of the program.

Projects benefit to the students

This program has been very impactful to students. It has catalyzed growth of volunteerism in the student population by six fold. There has been an increase in the number of students actively seeking opportunities to be volunteers in charitable organizations. This drive led the University to join the United Nations Volunteer programme giving MKU students more volunteer opportunities at UN organizations.  Secondly, it has led to transformation of students to be civic engagement champions. Students have taken their own initiatives to organize community engagement activities. For instance, Ms. Rose Macharia, a student who was part of the program at MKU won the COV-AID Student Engagement Award of USD 2,500 in 2021. The award was to support a Light & Empower project at Kiandutu Slum under the graduate student category. Rose and her fellow Talloires Network COV-AID award winners were featured in University World News. Students have gained useful skills from volunteer activities that include Leadership skills, Problem-solving, Skills on organisation & planning, skills on relationship building and teamwork. They have also learnt to be empathetic, gained interpersonal skills, they have more confidence and are able to analyse data, compile reports and make presentation.

University’s supports towards the project⁵

The University sets aside resources to support research, innovation and community outreach activities. Activities of this program that is established in the Directorate of Research, Innovation & Community Outreach are facilitated in the absence of external funding. For instance, students quarterly field visits to the program site are supported through University transport, and cost of stay. Similarly, faculty members from the Directorate of Research and College of Health Sciences who accompany students during the field work within the program site are also fully supported by the University. In addition to this, the program patron Prof. Peter G. Kirira, who founded the program and therefore provides overall leadership is a Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University and has been leadership, mentorship and guidance to students and faculty members involved in the program. Due to his background in Pharmaceutical Sciences, he has also been driving the research aspects of the program supported by students and faculty members as evidence in the latest program publication⁶ . The program has been given infrastructural support that is a meeting boardroom, equipped office and staff are allowed time out as they undertake the programs activities. The program can seek research publishing funding through the Vice-Chancellor research grant.⁷

Projects contribution to SDG’s

The program contributes to SDG goals 3, 4, 6 and 17.

On goal 3, Good health and well-being, the program contributes to the following goal targets;

“By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, ….” and the target “By 2030, ….. combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases”.

The program on adoption of safe water in rural schools therefore supports the efforts to reduce waterborne illnesses since schools in rural communities are more at risk due to polluted water sources.

On goal no. 4: Quality Education, the program contributes to the target “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, …”. The program has done this through reduction of school absenteeism by upto 45% that was attributed to sickness related to water contamination.

On goal no. 6: Clean water and sanitation, the program contributes to the target “By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.” This is the mainstay goal of the program since use of the water backpack has ensured that there is access to safe and affordable water to school going pupils in a poorly resourced community that was otherwise using contaminated water.

On goal no. 17: Partnership for the goals, the program has leveraged on partnership to achieve the milestones reported to date. Briefly, the University has partnered with PFC, an NGO, staff from the ministry of Education and ministry of Health, community health volunteers, village elders, teachers union and Member of County Assembly, an elective position. Hence, it contributes to the aspiration of the target “Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, …”.

Prof. Peter G. Kirira

Program Leader

Mount Kenya University

Resources.

1. Water scarcity exposes Laikipia residents to diseases; They are now competing for the little water in the pools with wild and domestic animals. https://shorturl.at/5INBr ↩︎
2. Kirira PG, Karenga SM, Michuki GN. A Technical Report Research on Utilization of packH2O in Kenya. http://www.packh2o.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Mount-Kenya-University-Research-On-Utilization-of-packH2O-in-Kenya.pdf ↩︎
3. Peter G. Kirira, Connie Cheren, Linus Ndegwa, Ashley Waudo. Quality of Water and the Recovery Time of Malnourished Children Enrolled In a Nutritional Feeding Programme from Parkishon Region, Marsabit County, Kenya. Archives of Clinical and Medical Case Reports 2 (2018): 113-123 ↩︎
4. https://www.mku.ac.ke/clean-water-access-to-laikipia-county-primary-school-pupils/ ↩︎
5. Water scarcity exposes Laikipia residents to diseases; They are now competing for the little water in the pools with wild and domestic animals. https://shorturl.at/5INBr). ↩︎
6. Kirira P, Oyatsi F, Waudo A, Mbugua S. Improving Access to Safe Water in Rural Schools of Kenya: Qualitative Multisectoral Insights. Cureus. 2023 Nov 21;15(11):e49174. doi: 10.7759/cureus.49174. PMID: 38130509; PMCID: PMC10734557 ↩︎
7. Teaching the power to make changes in everyday life https://shorturl.at/H2wPH ↩︎