ST. JOSEPH MIRANGA
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Thanks to you, Growing Community Roots raised $28,500 that 200 students, 7 teachers, and numerous families will have access to safe water, toilets and bathrooms that provide privacy, and a community garden that provides healthy food for the students. IMBO Community Action Program, our partner, supervised the planting of the community garden and oversaw the project.
The school is managed by a Board of Governors and a Parents Association who helped ensure the project’s completion. The school is responsible for the maintenance of the infrastructure investments.
BACKGROUND OF THE SCHOOL PROJECT
The St. Joseph Miranga Mixed Secondary School has 190 boys and 96 girl students, and is a
boarding school for some of the students. The school is located in a rural area of Homa Bay, in the
Nyanza Province, Rachuonyo District.
The area is water/rain deficient, which has greatly diminished the economic capability of the
population. Many boys, as a result, drop out of school and have to engage in sand harvesting and
motorcycle riding while girls get married before completing school.
The school currently has water tanks with the capacity of 30,000 liters that are connected to the main
water supply. The water source is limited because the water supply pipe is unreliable and the area
experiences prolonged periods of drought.
SIGNIFICANT NEED IDENTIFIED
The school needed more tanks to harvest rainwater. Most of the students who board waste time
collecting water from the polluted pond nearby.
The school was in need of a toilets with roofs to replace the dilapidated outhouses.
A community garden was needed to provide fresh vegetables for the students to eat.
BENEFITS
The community garden provided fresh vegetables and reduced the cost of feeding the students who
are borders. The community of St. Joseph’s Miranga Secondary School is greatly indebted to Growing Community Roots for all the support which has seen the school population increase from less than 200 in 2014 to the current 270. The academic performance in national exams had also improved from an index of 4.81 in 2013 to 5.714 in 2015.