Back To School: St. Francis School For The Blind

Over 50 years ago, the Kitale Diocese of the Anglican Church started a school to provide room and board, education and special training for children handicapped by blindness or visual disability. Unfortunately, living conditions in rural Kenya often result in the neglect and abuse of children perceived to be a burden to their family, including children with visual disabilities. They generally received less food from what little their family has, and they suffer poor health, which often leads to premature death. The staff at St. Francis School for the Blind wanted to offer a better life for children abandoned and neglected because of their eyesight, but without access to safe water, the staff struggled to provide a truly better situation for them.

Water Missions International was privileged to work with St. Francis School to remove this obstacle. A team from Water Missions International's Kenya office helped install a chlorinator to purify the school’s water supply and installed tanks and pipes to make it easier to access the water. Understanding that access to safe water is only one way to shield against water-related illnesses, the school also held classes for the local community to educate them on proper health and hygiene practices. After the safe water project was installed, the school’s headteacher, Joseph, said, “We are living in heaven, no more problems and worries of having clean water. The cases for waterborne diseases have seriously and drastically reduced to a very minimal level. We used to have four to eight students sick with stomach problems on weekly basis, but right now the scenario has changed; we hardly have two students sick in a week.”

“It has and it will [continue to] change our lives,” said Mary, the school matron who noticed the change faster than anyone else. “As the matron, I take care of all [the students’] needs, wash and care for them. When they are sick, I have to take them to the hospital. This was the hardest part, because I have to trek three km (nearly two miles) uphill to the health center with children. Some days I even go up to three times. The children constantly had stomach problems and this was because of the untreated water. Because I constantly went to the hospital, the nurses no longer empathized with the children and would sarcastically say, ‘Here comes the customer,’” Mary continued. “ I would feel bad but because of the love I have for the children I ignored their comments. But with this system in our school our life has changed. No more trekking to the hospital, and I will not be referred to as “the customer.”’

Because of safe water access, Mary and other teachers can now spend more time taking care of their students’ other needs. And teachers aren’t the only ones who now spend more time in the classroom. “The students used to be sick every time and again,” explained Benson, one of the students. “You would always find a sick student in the dormitory. But now the situation has changed.” In Water Missions International’s experience, classroom attendance improves up to 70% when students have access to clean, safe water. With safe water in place, the children of St. Francis can live healthier lives, free of water-related illness where they can focus on learning in an environment just for them.