Garbage, sewer water in Mathare North Primary school

Man hole near Mathare North Primary School

Students of Mathare North Primary School, Nairobi County, have been left to learn in a stinky environment.

There is a huge garbage dumpsite right next to the school and a pool of murky raw sewage that flows unabated from broken manholes.

Not only are these an eyesore, the stench they release is pungent and almost choking.

Despite the deplorable state, the dumpsite remains a beehive of activity. From scavengers engrossed in collecting valuable items to a water vendor and other entrepreneurs dealing predominantly with food stuff.

Potential buyers throng the temporary makeshift stalls where these vendors showcase their products, ignoring the swarm of house flies around the commodities.

Dumpsite that borders Mathare North Primary school (school in the background)

Inside the school compound, things are not any better.

It is break time when we tour the school and find students racing around the murky field, jumping over streams of raw sewerage while others traverse through the discharge since the better part of their playground is covered in waste.

The school head, Jackson Munai tells us the situation becomes even direr during the rainy season.

He details how he has lodged complaint after complaint with the county government to have the situation rectified and although some measures have been taken, these are not sufficient.

“When I joined the school eight years ago, the garbage situation was at its worst until I complained to the county government. As a school, we have also been seeking a solution to these problems.

We now cover broken manholes and have cleared the trenches to address blockages. But as you can see, the situation demands some serious work,” Munai says.

A teacher who asked to remain anonymous took me round the school and said it is not uncommon for raw sewerage to snake its way into the classrooms.

“When we have had an especially heavy downpour, we do sometimes find the classroom flooded with the dirty discharge,” he says.

He continues: “And even though we have a free feeding programme in the school, sometimes the pupils just lose their appetite when the stench hangs so loose and thick in the air”.