A hand-washing station capable of serving more people in a shorter period has been installed by an administrator in Bungoma to combat the spread of coronavirus in his location.
Bungoma Township Location Senior chief Joseph Cheng’oli says the facility can serve at least 100 people in a span of ten minutes. It is currently open for use by members of the public and youth engaged in kazi mtaani in the location.
According to the administrator, the technology is ideal for schools and will be essential if adopted once learners return to school after the Covid-19 crisis
He says it will help learners maintain precautionary hygiene practices and provide protection against future infectious disease outbreaks.
Chief Cheng’oli said he is willing to work closely with schools and churches and share the technology to ensure that learners and the faithful have quick access to fixed handwashing facilities, soap and reliable water supplies.
The station consists of a 210 litre water tank, connected to half inch PVC pipes that have been joined together to create ten tap outlets.
It uses a mortar to pump water to the outlets using electricity. A nozzle has been fixed at the end of every tap to avoid wastage of water so that water that has already been mixed with a sanitizer jets out in form of vapor.
Each tap is placed one metre away from the next in line with Covid-19 protocols,
He has placed the facility strategically near the entrance to his office and is helping people understand the benefits of hand washing to promote hygiene.
Cheng’oli said that according to the advice of health experts, hand washing is one of the most effective ways to prevent transmission of not just the coronavirus but also diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid.
The administrator said it is also one of the requirements that the ministry of education has given schools to provide ample hand washing stations for learners when schools re-open, he reckons five stations can serve a big school of up to 3,000 students adequately and he is willing to partner with schools.
The whole system cost Cheng’oli Sh23, 000 to assemble and make operational hence it is affordable as he used locally available materials.
He said during a recent visit to the county by the CS for Education Prof. George Magoha it was realized that a huge percentage of schools are yet to establish adequate hand washing facilities while a big number of health care facilities, also lack adequate hand washing stations.
Mr. Cheng’oli said the facility is also very ideal for abattoirs where washing of hands is a minute action that can make a huge difference in this coronavirus pandemic era owing to the nature of activities undertaken there.
Milimani village elder, Judith Nanjala commended the chief for the effort adding that Corona is real and hand-washing is one important tool to check and control spread.
She said the facility was the first of its kind in Bungoma and will help reduce the spread of the virus in the county if adopted across the board especially at all public places.
She also advised residents to go for testing, isolate the sick, wear masks and keep social distancing.
Bishop Nganyi Danny who blessed the project commended the chief for the innovation and said it would go a long way in keeping off coronavirus.
He said it was a good gesture for a public office to practice what they preach adding that to change behavior, you need to create an enabling environment.
He said washing of hands is not a natural habit for Kenyans hence the need to make it a desirable thing to do by being creative.
By Roseland Lumwamu
