Pupils of Kari Primary School, Kiharu constituency, on Tuesday walked five kilometres to raise funds to build a water tank.
They said they have suffered because of lack of water and poor hygiene. The walk, which started at Kahuro shopping centre and ended at the school, was supported by American NGO Can Do Kids.
Head teacher George Mureithi said the pupils spend at least two hours two days a week fetching water from a nearby river to clean classrooms.
Can Do Kids partnered with Tenda Mema Foundation, a local organisation, to organise the walk. The two help provide learning institutions with clean water.
They have laid the foundation for a 250,000-litre tank in the school, as they lobby for more funds to complete it.
Marked improvement
Can Do Kids coordinator Karanja Mburu said the project will be complete in two months. He urged parents and the community to support it.
Mburu said it is wrong for pupils to waste too much study time fetching water from rivers, instead of concentrating on their
studies.
He said his organisation has built seven similar tanks in the constituency. “We will continue to walk until all pupils in this area put down their jerrycans and concentrate on learning,” Mburu said.
He said they plan to construct more than 100 tanks in schools in four years. Mburu said
there has been notable improvement in schools where the project has been implemented.
He said the constituency’s hilly terrain makes it difficult to provide schools with piped water. Can Do Kids urged other organisations to support similar projects in schools.
Mburu urged the Muranga government to implement the initiative in other constituencies.
