I will begin by asking a few questions here;
(a)Is it true that some foods carry a lot of water in them at the market time? If so give us a few examples here.
(b) If you buy food at the market, do you also buy virtual water with it? So should the farmers price some crops higher because they also sell water in them?
Gayaza High School gets its water from a pump sank in one of the neighbouring valleys and this has been the case for the last so many years. All the old girls who have gone through this prestigious school have had their education at the expense of some of the other children in the community who missed school because they were looking for water since some community wells have dried up along the way. When we visited the area where our water pump is located we interacted with some of the local inhabitants who were quick to mention that they walk long distances looking for water. The irony of this is that for us as a school we get water from this area on a daily basis unless Umeme(the electricity board)decides otherwise. About one thousand people a year come from all parts of the country to settle in our school and waste water drawn from the community without looking back to the destruction created through their bad water habits. In some of the pictures attached herein you will be able to see our bad habits.
In one of our projects, “Every drop counts and keep it safe” we have set out to sensitize our school community about saving water so that we reduce on the wastage and pump less from the neighbouring community thereby restoring their water sources. We have also embarked seriously on water harvesting in the school so that we use more of green water which should make it possible for us to carry out irrigated agriculture throughout the year and increase on our food security capacity. We thank Steel and Tubes industries for the water tank they donated through one of the parents and we also appreciate the donation of a second tank by another parent. The school administration has also made it possible to have some more water harvesting points but we still need to harvest more water and we call upon all our friends to join us in this struggle. It is also possible to channel some of the waste water at the hand washing points to the nearby gardens and small compound gardens can be instituted. We need a serious discussion on all that is possible to enable the school to grow more food.
Having surplus food would now put us in a comfortable position to donate some surplus to our neighbouring community through the community schools as barter trade for the water we get. If it is true that all the food we buy at the market comes with virtual water then inevitably we shall be giving back some of the water we receive. The amount of food we donate determines the amount of water we give back. When we harvest a lot of green water for our activities then we shall pump less and when we grow more food,we shall donate a lot of food to our neighbours and at the end we shall have a smile on either side. Feeding the small children within the community schools makes it possible for them to receive a better education which gives a more sustainable life to the work force prepared for the growth of our nation.
If this community support argument becomes central within all that we do in our schools including our day to day class activities then the education we provide will become more meaningful and should prepare our youth to plan for community support in future other than the individualism we see today that leads to corruption at all levels.I hope all Headteachers will find this important so that together we can change the education system in our country.
Feed the Child 