Mbale schools get sanitation project

EDUCATION|SCHOOLS|SANITATION

MBALE - Two primary schools in Mbale city are set to benefit from a $65,500 water and sanitation project, courtesy of the Rotary Club of Mbale Metropolitan, in partnership with an international charity organisation, Drink Local Drink Tap (DLDT).

The construction work is currently in progress at Yoweri Museveni Primary School and Namatala Primary School.

The project is expected to benefit over 3,000 pupils and their teachers. The construction works are expected to take about three months.

Speaking to New Vision, the president of the Mbale Metropolitan Club, Peter Ogwang, said the project at the two schools will involve construction of washrooms for girls and modern drainable lined pit-latrines to cater for both pupils and teachers.

Ogwang said DLDT director Erin Huber wants pupils, especially the girls, to succeed by staying at school and teachers to work in a healthy environment.

The DLDT communications and operations assistant, Mohammed Masembe, said DLDT puts emphasis in providing safe, reliable and sustainable water and sanitation hygiene facilities to vulnerable school girls.

Masembe told New Vision that DLDT is also constructing an underground water tank, with a capacity to collect 200,000 litres and two 20,000-litre capacity overhead tanks, to store harvested rain water from the two schools that are adjacent to each other.

Namatala headteacher Edith Musundi expressed gratitude to DLDT for helping to address the challenges faced by the girl child, who, she said, is forced to miss class because of the deplorable personal hygiene and sanitary conditions at their schools.