A woman draws water from a similar Sh986million water and sanitation project launched in Migori town on July 3, 2014. What happened to the project?
A secondary school in Migori County has been faced with a serious water shortage and is deemed for closure if the crisis is not urgently addressed.
Students’ of St. Mary Nyangao secondary school in Rongo Sub County have been forced to walk over five kilometers every day to River Riana to fetch water for their daily use while at school.
According to the principal Mr.Samwel Singei, he said that the school is rapidly growing with current population of over300 students, depends on rain water harvested from the classroom roof and stored in the 13 tanks in the school which he said is never enough.
“Our students can only use the stored water for duration of one week and the rest of other days, they are forced to walk the long distance to fetch the all important commodity in the hope that rain will soon come,” said Singei.
While addressing the press in his office, Singei said learners’ lives are exposed to danger as anything can happen to them while out of school adding that a part from wasting a lot of time to the river interfering with their teachers’ contact time, many students have been harassed by the villagers especially the girls.
He reiterated that he has paid several attempts to get help from the local leaders including the Migori county government being that the Ministry of water is devolved function but all has proven futile.
He appealed to both national, county government and any well-wishers to promptly come to their aid especially this time of long and unpredictable drought.
The school is also faced with other challenges including staff shortage forcing them to engage non TSC staff to bridge the shortfall.
He affirms that the catchment area is economically challenged making payments to such teachers an uphill task due to the financial constraints which has forced the school to allow parents to pay fees in kind and bring food staffs to cater for the fees which he said is equally cumbersome to handle and even to quantify.
