Current state
Public schools in Rongo had some difficulties with the useage of the uddts due to lack of proper training by the constructors who were given the work. And the unfinished construction work, another area of concern was the population of the pupils to monitor who is going to use the units is still a challenge to all schools I visited. Each school had two doors for boys and two doors for girls and each school have population over 8oo pupils.
Lack of community involvement during the implementation of UDDTs also created some problem because community was not willing to finish the remaining parts or the unfinished parts. Therefore further training is needed for the following schools:
- Nyarach primary school
- Nyarach mixed secondary school
- Kodero bara boys secondary school
- Kodero bara primary school:Kamondi primary school, no water tank, no gutters installed and no urine containers.
- Nyakwere primary school: back door plate was not well done, water is getting into the chambers, gutters were not properly fitted and water tanks in place.
- Rongo primary school: gutters were not fitted well, water tanks was provided but can not be installed due to the security, getting the ash from the kitchen is a problem.
- Kitere primary school: construction wok was not completed for both boys and girls.
Achievements
Formation of school health club is in place with good structures involving community, pupils and teachers.
• Meeting with head teachers/ principles of secondary schools.
Existing Opportunities of the schools
• Availability of land
• Human resource
• Availability of iron roof for water harvesting
• Skilled teachers to facilitate both pupils and communities.
Strengths
• Available manpower.
• Positive attitude of communities member both pupils and teachers.
• Skilled staff on environmental conservation and ecological sanitation management.
Weaknesses• Lack of modern technology and skills on biogas, use of sunlight to produce power system for light.
• Lack of sufficient information education and communication to both community and school.
• Lack of the external resources to help facilitate the sustainable projects.
Threats• Hostile and sometimes unpredictable climate
• Poor soil texture
• Tropical diseases and pest
• Destruction caused by animals and human being.
• Theft
Success indicators• Community members and pupils had been sensitized in new methods and techniques using Ecosan product.
• Both community, pupils, and teachers have already developed positive attitudes towards ecosan project.
• Community members are planting more trees to address the climate change.
Current activities
• Maize plantations are in place.
• Planning to start horticultural garden in school.
• Ecosan club meetings are an on going activity.
Problems• Lack of water for irrigation and hand washing during dry season, and most schools do not have water supply system in school.
• Lack of sartified seed for planting.
• Few ecosan constructed area not enough for both pupils and teachers, this makes work difficult to monitor who is to use the unit.
General comment-Rise in demand of ecosan services by community due to increased awareness of the benefits of UDDTs.
Kitere Prim. School (Rongo District)
Fig 1: Ongoing construction of UDDTs.
Fig 2: Urine fertilized maise on the school farm
Fig 3 :Artisan (Emanuel Ouma) constructor of the UDDT
Fig 4: Patron (Mr. Jotham Ayomo) of the ecosan school club.
COMMUNIY FOLLOW UPS/RONGO AND RACHUONYO DISTRICT.
Most of the community groups are women groups with good structures in place.
Chair person
Secretary
Treasurer
Committee members
Group members.
Most of these groups are legal groups that registered with ministry of culture and social services. The groups have the project goals, objectives, problems statement, justification, and activities, meeting monthly for data collection and report. Most of the group I visited are concerned with the environmental conservation after they had gone through different trainings on income generating activities.
I had managed to reach the following groups:
- Kodoma self help group in Rongo District.
- Kanyonje women group in north rachuonyo district
- Tang lweti women group in North Rachuonyo District
- Upendo women group in north Rachuonyo District.
- Nyomindi self help group in north rachuonyo district.
- Hope and kindness orphan and catre centre in South Rachuonyo District – replication project.
- St Francis Nyangajo girl’s secondary school north Rachuonyo District.-replication project.
Management of facilities
In Rachuonyo all the constructed uddts are in use and some the members had already use the urine for top dressing their crop, and according to the users the result are so wonderful. The urine normally takes one and half week to get full that is a family of 8 and one chamber takes 8- 10 months.
Current activities
- Merry go round
- Local poultry keeping
- Bee keeping
- Horticultural farming
- Banana planting
- Tree nursery
- Pot making
- Rope making
- Bucket making
-Tailoring
- Orchard farming ( mango and orange)
Problems
During community follow ups, communities identified the following problem:
• Most the community members still have a big problem with hygiene, for example no proper waste management, no bathroom and place for cleaning laundry.
• The water sources are already contaminated because all the laundry cleaning and bathing are still practiced along the Lakes, Rivers and Ponds.
• During the rainy period many pit latrine collapses due to poor soil.
• Water is all scarce that are directly affecting mothers and child girl, as they walk long distance (up to 10 km) to collect just a bucket of 20 liters.
• Girls UDDTs need to connected with bath room to help them change during their monthly period and boys need urinal place to be connected near UDDTs.
Challenges of project
The main challenge is the high demand of ecosan technologies but lack of funding. The process of applying for the funds is long and people in the community are not aware of these funds. The people in charge of implementation and funding are not aware of ecosan especially for the Ministry of Education, Water Services Trust Fund, Water Services Boards and water services companies.
Way forward/ Action plan for July 2010
• Training the needy school on tree nusery management and school farming
• Training on horticultural farming
• Community training on how to manage community groups
• Follow ups of the unfinished construction
• Report writing every two weeks and sending
General comment-The work plan developed for June 2010 was not practical because I had leant that movement to these sites for visiting individual beneficiaries is not easy. I only managed the above groups, the rest was carried forward.
Kadoma Self Help Group (Rongo District)
Fig 5: UDDT owner (Caroline Atieno) using urine for maize and bananas
Fig 6: Maize plantation of UDDT owner Caroline Atieno
Rachouonyo North and South District
Fig 7 :Self sponsored UDDT (Church of God 7th day an international community).
Fig 8:Old pit latrine, collapsed during the rain season 2010 (Church of God 7th day an international community).
Fig 9:Self sponsored UDDT (Church of God 7th day an international community) and old pit latrine.
Fig 10: Self sponsored UDDT (Caren Odek) Chairlady for Kanyonje Women Group
Fig 11:Faecal chamber of UDDT owned by Caren Odek
Fig 12 :Composting site used also for ecosan products (Caren Odek)
Fig 13:EPP funded UDDT where first chamber is full and second one is in use (Kanyonje Women Group).
Fig 14:Single chamber UDDT constructed by fund from Kendu Adventist Hospital (2004)
Fig 15:Kanyonje Women Group during the merry go round (Microfinance and Credit).
Fig 16:EPP fundet UDDT (Kanyonje Women Group).
Fig17:EPP fundet UDDT owned by Elsa Amayo (Tanglweti Women Group)
Fig 18:UDDT owned by Debora Nyonje (Tanglweti Women Group)
Fig19:Self sponsored UDDT in Hope and Kindness orphanage Centre in South Rachuonyo District in front the drying chamber.