Broken Toilets, Hidden Profits

In the cramped girls’ washrooms of Toi Primary School in Kibra informal settlement, the air is heavy with the stench of waste and mildew. Damp walls close in on a toilet cistern stuffed with used pads, tissue, and plastic wrappers, overflowing with filth and silent neglect.

The cistern is not a bin; it was once meant to flush away waste. But in the absence of a functioning system, it now tells a different story, one of neglect, silence, and the quiet shame of schoolgirls navigating menstruation with poor sanitation while contracting infections.

Thirteen-year-old   Amina* has suffered three urinary tract infections in less than a year, with her eyesight now bearing the burden of the pain. The infection spread into her bloodstream, affecting her left eye. But behind the pain lies a problem that could have been avoided: her school’s dirty, neglected toilets.

“I used to itch every time I used the toilets at school, so I shared the experience with my mother. She did not take it seriously, “says      Amina, adding that it took the intervention of a close relative who broke the news to her mother.

“I should not be suffering like this. If someone had listened earlier, maybe this wouldn’t have happened, and I would be sitting in class comfortably,     ” avers Amina.

Her mother, a middle-aged businessperson at the nearby Toi market, confesses she was not aware of what infection her daughter had contracted. As such, she thought her daughter had a sexually transmitted infection, as her peers at the market had shared similar concerns about their daughters who attend schools in Kibra.

“You know, at times, you never know what diseases affect girls. I thought she had started sleeping around, and my fear was “What if she gets pregnant?”, revealed Amina’s mother.

According to medical documents, Amina has visited a local hospital four times this year alone. The cost of her treatment has amounted to approximately 20,000 Kenyan shillings. This, coupled with pain and discomfort while attending class, has affected her performance at school. Her favourite subject, Swahili, was among the subjects in which she scored low in her last exams.

“Her teacher complained that she hasn’t been able to concentrate in class lately. I had to confide in her about what my daughter is going through. That is when she intervened and allowed Amina to use the staff toilets,” says      Amina’s mother.

Amina is not alone. Her school, originally designed to accommodate 600 pupils, now hosts approximately 1,200 students, with around 700 being girls. This enrollment exacerbates the strain on already inadequate sanitation facilities at her school.

Globally, organisations like the WHO and UNICEF recommend a ratio of one toilet per 25 girls and one per 50 boys to ensure adequate sanitation in schools.

However, at Amina’s school, with 11 toilets available for 700 girls, the current provision falls short of these standards. This overcrowding, combined with the lack of proper maintenance, with six toilets out of order for five months, creates a daily struggle for the girls who attend this school.

A girl’s toilet at Toi Primary School

Dr Beryl Akun from Ushirika Medical Clinic in Kibra says girls undergoing menstruation require enough time to change their pads while at school.

In public schools in Kenya, a health break lasts 20-30 minutes, during which students break for tea or porridge and respond to the call of nature.

“ Assuming a girl on her period has to change her pads during this break, do you think 30 minutes is enough for, let’s say, 50 girls in an overcrowded school to change their pads one by one while also allowing other girls to access the washrooms?” poses Dr. Akun.

Data from Kibra Health Centre indicates a rise in UTI cases among school-going children in the area.

Between September and November 2024      , 156 cases had been reported from two public primary schools in the area.

Dr Akun warns that repeat UTIS among adolescent girls have been a problem for a long time, and many are afraid to come out due to stigma. She is urging stakeholders to re-examine unsafe toilets and poor hygiene in schools.

At a nearby Kibra Primary school, the root of the problem isn’t ignorance or neglect; it’s numbers: too many children, too few toilets, and nowhere else to build.

While the school has tried to implement measures to protect girls, its efforts, including buying water from bowser trucks when the supply from Nairobi City County is unavailable, have not stopped further infections.

During my visit, the taps were dry, and a small, half-full tank was outside the washroom, used by both girls and boys.

The exterior of the girls’ washroom at Kibra Primary School.

The school administration declined to comment on this issue, citing Ministry of Education guidelines that, according to them, require only Ministry officials to speak on behalf of public schools.

However, a resident who lives near the school told Pamoja FM he witnessed a bowser truck, capable of holding up to 10,000 litres, delivering water to the school twice a day for a full week in February. With over 1,200 pupils, the majority of whom are girls, the school is heavily dependent on this supply when piped water runs dry.

“I try not to drink a lot of water at school because I don’t want to use the toilet,” said *Fauzia, a 13-year-old grade 7 pupil.

“Sometimes it smells bad, and there’s no water to flush. If you’re on your period, it’s worse. You just feel like everyone knows.”

Fauzia says she often holds it in until she gets home, even if it means being uncomfortable in class.

Another student, *Michelle, aged 12, shared how she once missed three days of school due to a urinary tract infection. “I didn’t know what it was. I just felt pain and kept going to the toilet. My aunt took me to the clini,c and they said it was an infection. I think it came from using dirty toilets.”

Now, she says, she carries tissue and wipes in her schoolbag whenever she can afford it.

“If there’s no water, at least I have something to clean myself.”

Pamoja FM has established that a week’s supply of bowser-delivered water can cost up to Ksh 50,000, an amount that, if redirected, could repair multiple water points within the school. Evidence suggests the ongoing water and sanitation crisis may be less a matter of scarcity and more a question of profiteering.

A source within the school, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, revealed that some of the water meant for pupils is diverted and sold to households located directly behind the school.

Further investigations reveal that Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company pipes, which run past these houses en route to the school, have been vandalised. In some instances, water has been redirected from the school’s pipeline to serve private homes, with senior officials profiting from this scandalous business. Officials from the company downplayed these allegations, urging us to suggest the names of the culprits so that action can be taken.

Both school heads of Kibra and Toi Primary Schools declined to comment on the issue, referring us to the County Office and the Ministry of Education for further clarification. When approached, the Ministry of Education directed us to Mr. Mario Kainga, the County Director for Water and Sanitation Services.

Mr. Kainga acknowledged the existing gap in sanitation facilities and highlighted that the county government is in the process of renovating ablution blocks across all public schools in Nairobi. The renovations have already begun in Embakasi and Mathare Sub-Counties.

Studies by the Kenya Water and Sanitation Civil Society Network (KEWASNET) have consistently highlighted how communities in informal settlements face systemic challenges in accessing clean and reliable water. According to the network, these challenges stem from a combination of poor infrastructure, irregular water supply, and heavy dependence on informal vendors who often exploit residents by charging high prices. In areas like Kibra, vandalism and illegal water connections are common, further straining supply lines and affecting water quality.

In Lindi Ward, a community of nearly 60,000 residents, as recorded in the 2019 census, the absence of a public school or hospital has become a silent crisis. Every day, children trek to far-off wards, Laini Saba, Jamhuri, Sarang’ombe, and Mbagathi, in search of basic education, further stretching the capacity of schools like Kibra and Toi Primary that are already struggling to serve their own.

Member of County Assembly Ochieng Jerah has called on residents to donate land for a new public school, but with overcrowding already an issue in Kibra, the lack of space for such a facility remains a pipe dream.

At Toi Primary School, Amina sits alone on a bench during lunch break, her eyes squinting in the sunlight, not just from the glare, but from the quiet pain that’s yet to fully leave her body.

The last time she sat for a test, she couldn’t concentrate, not from lack of revision, but from the sting of another infection and the anxiety of walking back into a washroom she fears.

Her dream is simple: to be a nurse someday, to help girls like her who are not heard to be heard.   But until then, Amina walks through each school day with courage, hoping that someone, somewhere, will stop flushing promises and finally fix what’s broken.