In Africa Diarrhea Kills Almost One in Five Children Before Their Fifth Birthday



Toilets at Galilee Primary School and
Waddington High School

Due to the over used and poor location of the current toilets several of our students currently living at Holly House have been ill with Typhoid fever.  In addition the Public Health Department has threatened to close the school if new toilets are not installed.

Typhoid fever is a bacterial disease, caused by Salmonella typhi. It is transmitted through the ingestion of food or drink contaminated by the faeces or urine of infected people.
Symptoms usually develop 1–3 weeks after exposure, and  may be mild or severe. They include high fever, malaise, headache, constipation or diarrhea, rose-colored spots on the chest, and enlarged spleen and liver. - World Health Organization

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a short incubation period, from less than one day to five days, and produces an enterotoxin that causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not promptly given. Vomiting also occurs in most patients. - World Health Organization



Slums surrounding the school



Both Typhoid and Cholera are prevalent in the slums of Kenya due to limited access to safe drinking water and lack of proper sanitation.  Generally, women and children walk for long distances in search of this precious commodity and use it untreated from rivers, lakes and dams. Untreated water is often turbid, and contains disease causing bacteria and pathogens.

Both of these illnesses can easily be treated with antibiotics, unfortunately many of the family’s that live in the surrounding areas do not have access to and cannot afford treatment.

In addition both of these deadly diseases could be prevented all together with access to safe drinking water and proper waste disposal that doesn’t leech into the drinking water. 

A few years ago the sponsors and caring friends of Galilee Primary School and Waddington High School, came together and raised the funds needed to install a permanent well on the school grounds.  Now the students and orphans living at Holly House will never have to worry about having access to clean drinking water.  Unfortunately the school has grown beyond the few toilets that are currently at the school.

A sponsor that has visited the school several times said this about the toilets.

"The latrines at Galilee are smack dab in the middle of the compound, both the new and the old. Yes, there are some flush toilets at HH, but there is no way that they can support the usage of even the number living at HH now, and are not available to the general school population. The condition of the latrines, due to the high population of students, is terrible at best. Even though they are cleaned every day and maintained as best as possible, the potential for disease is tremendous...diseases that would be transmittable and spread through Galilee and the community like a wildfire. Also, we must consider the diseases that can attack weak, underfed/malnutrition immune systems... for a child who is not eating, even a simple cold could be life threatening. And, we have lost more than one child to anemia. The latrine project is vital if we are going to be able to assure a sanitary, disease free environment."

What you can do to help

If you can make a donation to either help with building new toilets or for the medical needs of the students please use the donation button on the right, or email info@nairobikids.org

Please help spread the word about this very desperate need. Post it on your blog, or hit the buttons below to share it on facebook, twitter or Google Buzz.  Children should not die because they can not afford access to water or proper toilets.

Thank you.