Lpus Leluai Primary School is located next to a major national game reserve and had approximately 500 pupils aged between six and 12 in attendance when the team at Just a Drop were made aware of their needs.

When the school was at full student capacity, the compound required 15,000 litres of water per day. The students and school staff had to fetch the water from the Ewaso River which usually carries brown water that is unsuitable for human consumption due to erosion caused by farming activities upstream. In addition, due to its position in a wildlife-rich area, the river harbours a large population of crocodiles. Before Just a Drop arrived to work here, there had already been two cases of school pupils being attacked and killed by crocodiles while they were fetching water.

Just a Drop partnered with the Ngutuk Ongiron Community and the Northern Rangelands Trust and developed a plan to both safeguard the students and ensure they would be able to enjoy a potable water supply.

Today

At a site visit in March 2012, the team were delighted to discover that the school is going from strength to strength and is now the sixth best school in the whole District. 20 out of 25 children in form six have gone on to secondary school, which previously was a rare occurrence.  There is a steady and growing school attendance and, largely as a result of there being water in the school, a local organisation has recently funded four more classrooms to deal with the increase in student enrolments.

What’s more, the project has catalysed several community-led initiatives that have made lives significantly better for the people living in this area.  Two examples of this include:

• The development of a student-initiated garden nursery using waste water.  This is now providing tomatoes and potatoes to supplement the food donated by the World Food Programme to the community.  Acacia seedlings are also sold to raise money for the school, demonstrating a growing entrepreneurial spirit.
• A new medical centre is being built and water is being piped to it.

Just 18 months prior to this visit, the school had limited dirty water supplies and the constant threat of wildlife and disease and today not only is it thriving, but it is contributing to the overall upliftment of the local community.  We’d say this has been a success well worth celebrating and wish to say a hearty Thank You to our project sponsors, the Boultbee Foundation for making this possible.

Project Sponsor: Boultbee Foundation

Date of Project: March 2011

Beneficiaries: 2,300 including pupils, teachers, rangers and local families

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