Every morning, students at Pangani Comprehensive School in Lamu West arrived carrying three litres of water. If they could not carry it, they brought money to buy it. The water was poured into a single container per class and rationed through the day for drinking and cooking school meals. No one could verify where it came from or whether it was safe. In a place built for learning, water quietly became the first lesson.
The school even had a borehole. The problem was taste and safety. The water was too salty to drink or cook with. Around the school, families relied on rainwater catchment areas and other boreholes, but rainfall became more erratic and drought set in. Catchments dried up. Borehole levels dropped. Water turned into a daily negotiation between distance, cost, and risk. When a household must organise water, it has less space for calm.
Kenya Red Cross describes how that changed in June 2024. Through a Kenya Red Cross Society and WWF Nature Based Solutions project, Pangani Comprehensive received three rainwater harvesting tanks, each holding 10,000 litres. Four other schools across Lamu County received similar installations, forming a small network of clean water access points where rainfall is unreliable and alternatives are scarce. It is not a dramatic construction. It is a roof, a gutter, and a storage tank. But that is exactly how a rare good day becomes a reliable structure.
The tanks collect rainwater from the school roof. Once stored, the water is tested and approved by county health officials before use. During school hours, students and teachers access it through taps controlled by the headteacher. The water is boiled before drinking and used for cooking school meals, handwashing, and cleaning. Students no longer bring water from home. That sentence carries weight because it removes literal weight from hundreds of shoulders, every single morning.
The benefit also reaches beyond the school gate. Community members can request access through the headteacher or the watchman, collecting enough for a day or two. On weekends, a guard manages access and protects the resource. It is responsive access, and that keeps the system working.
The tanks are also a climate adaptation strategy. When rain does fall, it is captured. When it does not, there is at least a buffer. Kenya Red Cross notes that just months after installation, the difference is visible. Children arrive without water on their backs. Families have one less worry. It is everyday life starting to breathe again.