One School's Journey to Clean Water and a Better Future

Simphiwe, 13, a Grade 7 pupil, tells of the dire situation at her school before World Vision supported them by providing safe water. She says that as learners, they would sometimes have to shelve lessons to go and fetch water for the school from a nearby stream for cleaning of classrooms and other hygiene purposes.

“The water from the stream was not very clean as we also shared it with animals, including cattle and goats, so it was not very healthy for us to drink,” says Simphiwe.

In 2021, the school approached World Vision for support with installing a water system at the school, to which the organisation responded positively by digging a borehole for clean water supply to the school, with two large tanks for storage. With the school having water, the Maseyisini Area Programme (AP) in the Shiselweni Region, under which the school falls, then trained learners and teachers on the importance of practicing proper hygiene procedures.

Following the training, the school formed a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Club, comprising of learners, whose role is to create awareness, lead and be responsible for the school’s cleanliness and hygiene, water conservation, sanitation, amongst other WASH-related issues.

In 2022, World Vision also trained a teacher at the school on Impact+ to help facilitate the formation of Impact+ Clubs. The school’s WASH Club then became a WASH/Impact+ Club. The Impact+ Youth Model is an integrated approach to support disadvantaged male and female youth develop the skills, behaviours, and attitudes necessary to obtain sustainable livelihoods and participate constructively in their communities. 

Simphiwe elaborates: “With the help of our teacher, we, as the Impact+ Club, approached World Vision and requested them to help us with vegetable gardening seedlings, as well as build us toilets because the ones we had were old and had no doors.”

She says they were very happy when World Vision responded positively and solved their problems as that was the beginning of a very positive change in their lives as learners. One of those changes came about when World Vision donated the requested seedlings to the school, which they used to start vegetable gardening in the school using the available water to irrigate. The child-focussed organisation also constructed the requested toilets, among other support provided to the school.

“As a result of the vegetables we grow and the fact that we have water, the school is now cooking for us every day and we have enough food to eat, unlike before,” Simphiwe adds with a smile.

Simphiwe’s story is reiterated by the school’s Head Teacher, Sabelo Dlamini, who says water was a huge challenge for the school as there was no reliable source for many years. He says this also meant the school had no proper gardens for their Agriculture lessons, but now they grow a variety of vegetables, such as spinach, onions, beetroot, cabbages, et cetera, which supply the school’s kitchen for feeding all learners.

“We are truly grateful for the support received from World Vision because we used to spend a lot of money, around SZL2,100 (approximately $110) every two weeks, to fill up the school’s water tanks and avoid disturbing lessons when sending children to the stream,” Dlamini explains.

He says getting borehole water within the school premises now means they can spend the money on other school necessities, including buying beans and other proteins to supplement the rice and meals sometimes provided by the Government for the school feeding scheme.

“The children are now having a balanced and nutritious diet here at school, which we believe helps them concentrate better even during lessons instead of falling asleep from hunger,” says the Head Teacher.

He adds that World Vision’s support also extended to the refurbishment of their Consumer Science Laboratory, which has now been furnished with four electric stoves, two refrigerators, two microwaves, cabinets and sink fittings. The lab has also been tiled with tiles from World Vision’s Gifts-In-Kind (GIKs) programme.

“We love our Consumer Science class and now really enjoy the lessons we have there because we learn to cook in a nice, clean and very beautiful space,” Simphiwe says proudly.

The young girl says her dream is to one day become a medical doctor and she sees herself achieving this because of the now conducive learning environment she is in.