Dream Meets Hope - A New Sanitation System

Since St. Clare Center began in 2004, a proper sanitation system has been a dream. The former cesspool was no longer adequate as more and more girls arrived to the safety of St. Clare. About the only advantage of the long drought is it provided long dry days to pour the cement which will be the septic system for the St. Clare Centre.

Each day, in sweltering heat, the men work from dawn to dusk, pouring the cement. The photos taken by Sr. Kathryn show the cement coming down the chute into the forms. Notice the men precariously balanced on the rebar, directing and packing the cement in the forms.

Once the cement is in place it will take 20 days to cure. During this period it must be kept moist. The well at St. Clare makes this possible.  Before this well was dug last year, this whole project would have been impossible due to the lack of water.

When the cement walls are strong enough, the pumps will be installed. Each day we inch closer to the dream of a proper sanitation system at St. Clare and all this is made possible by the generosity of so many donors in the United States, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.

Update: August 20, 2011

The hole for the septic system was progressing so well and then they struck water. This not drinkable water for it is very salty and turned the site into a mud pit. Everyday it had to be pumped out. But the men and woman continued until they reached the bottom.

Last week the base for the septic tanks was poured and now the rebars are being put in place to create four separate tanks. The waste water from St. Clare will enter one end, be processed through 4 tanks, and exit as grey water usable for irrigation.

What rhymes with “irrigation???” Irritation! The constant seeping of water into the site is a huge irritation and a costly one. 

The good news is that once the walls for the septic tanks are poured and set, then they can back fill and forget about the water. Until then, they just have to muck it out!

Update: September 2011

It is not a “thing of beauty” but it is beautiful to see the huge septic tank being filled in, shovel by shovel.  It took two months of 26 people working all day to create the hole. It partially filled-in when there was a collapse on one side, but fortunately it was lunch time and no one was in the hole.

Now the tank is completed with special waterproof plaster on the inside and outside and it is time to bury the tank. What a beautiful sight. 

Now we only need to install the processing pumps and pipes to bring the grey water to the drainage field and we can call it a success.

Update: October 2011

Everything is Kenya is built with stone blocks quarried out of the hills around the country. Cement and blocks is the basic. When it came time to build the pump house for the septic system the stones had to be delivered by truck, dumped on the ground and then each stone has to be shaped because like snowflakes, no two blocks are alike.

The workmen do this ‘shaping’ with simple machetes and a lot of back breaking work over many hours.

Once they are shaped into ‘similar’ sizes then they can be quickly placed and cemented in place to form the pump house as seen in the picture on the left.

We continue to make progress on the septic system. The next step is installation of the pump system but that can only be installed after electric power is available to the system.

Update: November 2011

In the midst of the famine and drought the workers never stopped working and last week they were able to put the top on the huge concrete tank. You can get a feel for the size of this structure when compared to the size of the workers on the roof.

The huge tank consists of four sections through which waste water will pass, be processed and exit as reusable grey water destined for watering and fertilizing crops.

Once the concrete top was poured and firm the workers returned to add man-hole covers by which each individual tank can be accessed to service pumps.  This was the major project and now it is ready for the installation of the pumps and pipes. But first we must build the powerhouse which will house the electricity for the pumps. One step at a time, but it is progress in the right direction. It is hoped this whole system will be operational in a month.

Update: June 2012

The septic tank and pipes are in place to carry waste water from the building to the tank where it will be processed into grey water. However, the grey water must go somewhere and that is the next challenge.  With Sister Kathryn supervising the construction of the drainage into two different fields and Mr. Steven A. Bennet from Texas generously donating the funds for the project, the septic system is well on the road to completion.

The first step involves connecting a holding tank for the grey water.   You must remember that EVERYTHING in Kenya is done using manual labor.  The photos below reveal the tremendous effort needed to raise this huge tank to the top of the platform.  From this elevated position, the grey water will be carried by gravity to the drainage fields and supply nutrient rich water to the fields which supply much of the food for St. Clare.

Update: July 2012

Our engineer, Mr Mbogo, sends the following progress report: our Septic Tank/Water Treatment Plant is 100% complete!