Zambia,Kalonda School 2009

Name of project: Latrines for Kalonda Basic School

Location: Kalonda Basic School, Kalomo District, Southern province, Zambia, Africa. GPS -

Project supporter: Wendy Osario

Project manager: African Revival

Challenge: Kalondo Basic School was founded in 1947 by the local community and serves seven villages, scattered across a remote rural part of the country. The school is 12 km down a dirt track and 40km from the nearest town

It recently opened two new classrooms, increasing the number of students attending and dropping the ratio of latrines to pupils to almost 1:70. Many of the existing latrines lacked roofing, allowing insects to enter and spread disease, and the open bricks were vulnerable to weather damage during the rainy season

What we did: After consulting with the school management and the Parent Teacher Association, we prioritised improving the girls’ latrines. Without separate sanitation facilities, many girls attend school rarely or not at all

The local community provided labour and bricks, made using traditional methods. We built five new double latrines and repaired the existing five double latrines, which included installing roofing, taking the bricks back to a point where we could build a level wall and plastering the buildings to prevent weather damage.

We also trained a local group of volunteers in the upkeep of the latrines

Beneficiaries: 680 students and seven villages

Achievements: The ratio of latrines to students has improved to 1:34, bringing it within the UN recommendation of 1:45. Hygiene and sanitation have both improved, boosting school attendance and reducing diseases

Start Date: June 2009

Finish date: December 2009