How much water do you use in a single day? Sometimes it can be difficult to comprehend just how much water we consume; particularly those of us in developed countries. For your information, one person living in America uses approximately 80 to 100 gallons of water in a single day! However, in villages like Kwala, the average person only has access to up to 2 gallons of water per day.

Ask an average American where water comes from. Well, the answer is simple. From the faucet.  In Kwala, the answer has never been that simple. The community of Kwala depends on a pump that brings water to Kwala from a water source about 7 KM away. The pump frequently breaks, however, leaving the Kwala School Community without water for up to weeks at a time.

Understanding the Issue:

Both teachers and students depend on water in order to carry out daily activities such as cooking, cleaning, and drinking. Most students depend on the school to provide them with three meals per day. However, when water is unavailable, students are left without food. On these days, students often miss school because they are too hungry, forced to try to find alternative food sources for themselves. A reliable source of water will allow Kwala to start their school garden and maintain the NTC Orchard Project which can both provide students with healthy fruits and vegetables and serve as a potential source of income for the school in the future. Water is also necessary to keep conditions sanitary in Kwala’s new latrines, built by NTC in July 2009.

In late 2009, NTC received a very generous donation from the Star Water Pump Company, in which the company attempted to drill a well at Kwala Secondary School. Unfortunately, all three attempts by the company were unsuccessful, leaving the Kwala School Community to rethink its plans for providing ample water to students and teachers at Kwala Secondary School.

NTC Solution:

Water harvesting at Mahundi Primary School

The NTC Committee in Kwala, comprised of teachers, students, and village leaders, has proposed a plan to use several large water cisterns (20,000 liters per cistern) to harvest rain water from the roofs of Kwala Secondary School. Additionally, the Kwala Community has offered to divert the village water supply directly to Kwala Secondary School, allowing the school to fill the tanks when harvested water has run out. The community has also offered water to the school at a discounted rate because of the large quantity of water the school will be purchasing. Further, the large quantities of water stored at the school will prevent the school from running out of water when the village water supply is not working.

Below: The Kwala School Community explains the issue of water in the community and water harvesting as a potential solution.

Fundraising Goal: $6,000.00