The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) with funding from British Red Cross (BRC) and in Partnership with the County Government of Taita Taveta is implementing a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project in Taita Taveta County, with an aim to improve hygiene and sanitation practices and increase access to clean and safe water for 55,000 people.
The activities undertaken are software and hardware interventions. The Project has funded the construction of latrine blocks for Boys (5 doors with a disability friendly unit and a urinal) in seven Primary Schools namely Gimba, Mwanyambo, Mkamenyi, Kambito, Kalambe, Kidongo and Challa.
Construction of both Boys & Girls latrine blocks for Masharinyi and St Joseph Kivukoni Primary Schools has also been done. Additional beneficiaries include three Primary Schools namely Masharinyi, St Joseph Kivukoni and Kalambe that benefitted from the construction of both rain water harvesting unit and a latrine block for boys. In total 11 primary schools with a population of 4,789 pupils (2,384 boys and 2,405 girls) benefited from both the software and hardware interventions.
In the quest to improve sanitation and hygiene practices in the county, the WASH team in Taita Taveta implemented different approaches to accomplish the expected output. These include community sensitization forums; stakeholders meetings; coordination meetings and spot-checks reaching 8,000 men and women in Mbololo, Kaloleni, Buguta, Kalembi, Gimba and Nakuruto villages. The key messages were on sanitation ranging from proper toilet use, hand washing with soap and dangers of open defection.