By Christopher Omondi.
Manyatta Primary School in Kondele Ward, Kisumu County, is facing a shortage of latrines, raising concerns as students have to queue for long periods. Many, especially those from the Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) programme, must walk longer distances to access the latrines since the responsible authorities have halted the ongoing construction of three pit latrines, including one designated for the ECDE department, for reasons unknown to the public.
The last latrine completed at the school was a project funded by the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG CDF). It aimed to build a ten-door pit latrine back in the financial year 2020/2021 for Kisumu Central Constituency. Since then, no new latrines have been constructed. Three latrines were recently under construction, but their work has been halted, and no one has been held accountable. There has been no public confirmation of the project’s details, including the service charter.
“I live just behind the school and also work here at the Manyatta ECDE as staff. From the outside, you can see students crowding the latrines, especially during breaks. The ECDE department does not have a latrine specifically designed for small children, so they have to walk long distances across the field to reach the latrines. A lot of movement is noticeable to and from the latrines due to the limited facilities at the school. This situation can facilitate the transmission of diseases such as cholera, posing a threat to the students’ health,” explained Ashley Atieno.
Community members engage at the field weekly, especially on Sundays when Lower Division matches are hosted, and many comment on the state of the latrines, which are often filled. They are calling on the area Member of Parliament to assist in completing the stalled latrine construction. “As of the first term, around February, three latrine construction projects were underway at the school, but until now, there has been no completion as the projects were halted and left in limbo. We don’t know who is in charge of these projects, as no communication has been made to the public regarding them. We now ask our able Member of Parliament, Honourable Joshua Oron, to take care of this project for our children,” said Clayton Nyonje.
Our children truly deserve better in terms of service delivery from all responsible bodies, and I echo the calls of the people in my community to advocate for more latrines, starting with the completion of the stalled latrine projects at Manyatta Primary School.
