Using £5,000 donated by students from Kenilworth School, raised through Africa Week and USU activities, and matched by a similar amount from KUFL funds, the construction of a rain water harvesting tank for Umiki Secondary School is well underway.
The tank, having a capacity of 100,000 litres, will be placed 2/3 underground, with pipework from the roof of the school.
Building on previous projects to bring clean and safe water to the village, the water source will be particularly useful at the school, where the laboratories require ‘soft water’ and have experienced low capacity from their main water source during the rainy season.
Trees have been removed adjacent to the school, to make way for the excavation of the hole for the water tank. It has been tough work and being dry, water has had to be used to soften the soil.
Using sand obtained locally, cement brick are being produced whilst stones and aggregate have been collected from the village of Songambele, 9 km away.
The hole is nearing completion and a good number of cement bricks have been made
Update November 2025
The hole has now been lined with the bricks, internally plastered and a concrete top cover laid over a top frame. The next stage will be the construction of the gutters and installation of a solar powered pump.
The gutter installation will commence soon after a period of rain, to ensure that water from the roof surface is clean.
