Schools in Siaya on brink of health threat over latrines mess

A nicely painted gate and artistic signpost welcome you to St Joseph Uyundo Secondary School in West Ugenya.

The school hosting 160 students was hived off from the compound of Uyundo Primary School six years ago but has been struggling to meet the standards of a credible learning institution.

Inside the compound are well-painted classrooms facing south, built with the support of the area Constituency Development Fund. These are the only standard structures one can point out.

With no latrines of their own, the secondary school students have to cross to the primary section to share the few dilapidated latrines. Some even relieve themselves in the thicket.

With most of the latrines already overflowing, the few remaining ones have either no roof or no door for privacy. And the primary school pupils have to give way for their seniors whenever they meet.

A recent intervention by stakeholders, however, saw the girls benefit from improved facilities. But most of them still feel uncomfortable given that personal hygiene is a very sensitive matter.

Dropout rate

“It is true that latrines are a challenge in this school but you can’t just pinpoint our school. The situation affects many schools; as you know, infrastructure and other facilities are a challenge for many learning institutions across the country,” said Jared Owuor, the principal of Uyundo.

The situation at Uyundo is a reflection of the worrying state of hygiene across many public schools in the region, with teachers and parents confirming that they have battled to keep girls in school under such circumstances.

Five kilometres away lies Lung’a Primary School. Last year, the school had 250 pupils, but the number has since reduced to 210.

Head teacher Michael Awuor confirmed that girls made up the biggest statistics of dropout cases, with poor sanitation coming up as one of the causes.

A single iron sheet structure divided into four stalls is what they call toilets. Both girls and boys share the facility whose walls have since worn out from the acidity of the urine splashing on it.

And five metres away is the only brick structure used by the 12 members of staff, five support staff and Early Childhood Development teachers. With no fence protecting the school, the neighbouring community also takes advantage and uses the latrines over weekends and holidays.

“We do not have a urinal pit so all the children have to use the same structure. Sometimes the cheeky ones even ‘do it’ outside the latrines, especially those who have no shoes,” said Mr Awuor.

“We have engaged parents, alumni and other stakeholders to help us as we are likely to lose more girls if this situation continues,” he added.

The last two years have seen two cholera outbreaks in the county. The schools have been some of the soft targets.

“We have no option. My daughter says she has trained herself to use the latrine at home in the morning before she goes to school, then at midday when she comes home for lunch and in the evening after school because the condition of the school latrines is unbearable,” said Pricila (not her real name), a parent at the school. “I have witnessed the situation and even allow her to stay home when she is menstruating.”

A public health officer who spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media said every time there is a cholera outbreak, they rush to particular schools just to ensure that the worst does not happen.

Visit schools

“Children are very vulnerable so we do visit the schools, but there is not much we can do. Our work is to sensitise teachers and pupils on hygiene but we have no resources to provide water or latrines,” he said.

At Magombe Primary School where there are at least 394 pupils, the situation is also pathetic - with only four pit latrines for boys and another four for girls.

The school has allocated two latrines for the adolescent girls to help them manage their monthly periods, but they are still uncomfortable.

“Most girls do not come to school during their monthly period because they lack privacy. They would rather stay home so they can comfortably handle the situation as the school latrines are in a very bad state,” said one teacher.

The Standard managed to retrieve a letter written by a schoolgirl to the Kenya Alliance for Children last year, pointing out the dire state of hygiene in the school and seeking the organisation’s intervention as a way of keeping girls in school.

“Our school is in a valley close to a dam and is usually water-logged and swampy, especially during the rains. The few latrines we have are in pathetic condition because they are rarely dug more than eight feet deep,” read part of the letter signed by Standard Seven pupil Mercy Akinyi.

The situation is the same in Nyando, Kisumu County, especially when it gets flooded. At Okanja Primary School in Ahero, the 576 pupils have to share eight dilapidated latrines. Most of them have no doors or roofs.

No urinal

And in Bunde Primary School, the boys have no urinal and use the school fence to relieve themselves.

With the school situated near Ahero Rice Irrigation Scheme, water overflowing from the farms occasionally flows into the school compound, raising the level of the latrines’ contents and interfering with learning.

“Sometime the stench is unbearable and the health of our pupils is at risk. But we have been watchful, working with the health department when there are disease outbreaks. We also advise the pupils to wear shoes, even though most of them come from humble backgrounds and cannot afford the luxury of shoes,” said David Ochieng, the deputy head teacher.

Kisumu County Director of Education Sylvestre Mulambe said the issue of hygiene was a big concern, especially in Nyando and Muhoroni. But he was quick to clarify that the heads of the affected schools had the option of applying for infrastructure funds from the Ministry of Education.

His Siaya counterpart Nereah Olik also admitted that the situation had affected learning in various schools, but noted that a number of non-government organisations had come to the rescue for most schools.