Rotary International District 9212 and MaMa Doing Good have signed a partnership and collaboration agreement to implement Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) initiatives across the Republic of Kenya.
The partnership entails four key thematic areas. These are; Development and implementation activities aimed at improving the lives of differently abled children and children in marginalized regions through the Adopt-A-School Integrated Project;
Enhancement of environmental conservation education and awareness through school greening and community awareness programmes; Joint response to common national, regional and international issues about water resources and sanitation in schools; and Joint resource mobilization towards the Adopt-A-School Integrated Project.
The collaboration is intended to be for a minimum period of five years.
According to the Framework for Collaboration, both parties may extend it based on need and mutual agreement.
The projects are intended to boost efforts to achieve a provision in the constitution of Kenya, which stipulates that every person in the country has the right to clean and safe water in adequate quantities and the right to reasonable sanitation standards.
Kenya is a water-scarce country, meaning demand outstrips supply.
According to UNICEF, about 59pc of the population has safe drinking water, while 29pc have improved sanitation facilities.
In 2020, UNICEF certified 1,765 villages as open-defecation-free.
In Kenya, 9.9 million people drink directly from contaminated surface water sources, and an estimated five million practice open defecation.
Only 25pc have hand-washing facilities with soap and water at home. Global evidence shows that better water, sanitation, and hygiene could prevent the deaths of 297,000 children under five each year globally.
