Kachembele Primary School consist of 500 students (boys 240/girls 260) with six teachers. WFTO visited the school and found two wells but only one with a hand pump. The existing hand pump was working but the well-produced only a small amount of water and frequently ran dry. One teacher informed us that the students were frequently late to class and some students would miss class due to a shortage of water. The students are responsible for cleaning the outdoor toilets, wash classrooms, and replenish the water coolers within the school.

The initial visit by WFTO to the small community of Kachembele…population 200 found the hand pump had been broken for one month. The community attempted to repair the hand pump and dropped the hand pump into the well along with several chains and fishing tools. WFTO managed to fish out the lost chains, wire, and fishing tools. The community informed us that additional fishing tools were lodged in the hole so we abandoned hope of retrieving the hand pump. However, since the old hand pump was lodged in the well beyond 30m we simply placed a new hand pump above that pump.

WFTO distributed 137 Jerry cans to the Mwemba community which blessed approximately 75 families (420 people). The Jerry cans are five-gallon plastic containers used to collect water from the hand pumps. So often, we see old antifreeze and motor oil containers being utilized to fetch water. The new containers will definitely improve the hygiene in the community.