From having to stand guard at doorless toilet stalls to stepping into clean, safe facilities, the daily struggle for 220 students and teachers at Kanyisa Junior Primary School has finally come to an end.
Cofimvaba, South Africa (20 October 2026) – Imagine having to use an unsafe, old and damaged toilet throughout your entire primary school years. The learners and teachers at Kanyisa Primary Junior School near Cofimvaba haven’t had to imagine this; it has been their daily reality for the past 15 years.
They were forced to make do with just two severely deteriorated toilets after severe storms destroyed most of the school’s 21 pit toilets. With no doors on the remaining structures, children had to visit in groups of three: two standing guard at the entrance while the third used the toilet. Meanwhile, male and female staff had to share a single toilet.
Fortunately, these daily challenges are now a thing of the past.
Thanks to funding from Rand Refinery, Breadline Africa and its sanitation implementing partner, Envirosan, have replaced the school’s unsafe facilities with new waterless toilets, providing 220 learners and their teachers with safe, private and dignified sanitation!
In his application to Breadline Africa, Principal Mzukisi Boyana described the conditions that learners had endured for years.
“Fifteen years back, strong winds and heavy rains destroyed most of the 21 pit toilets. The toilets that we have are in very bad condition. The Foundation Phase kids find it difficult to use them. We have only two toilets that could be used, and they are in very bad condition.”
The new facilities include 13 dry toilets, four waterless urinals and four handwashing stations with eight basins and four soap dispensers.
The dry sanitation system uses sealed, concrete-lined chambers, removing the danger of children falling directly into open pits. The facilities do not require water for flushing and provide a safer, more sustainable solution for the school, which has an unreliable water supply.
For Marion Wagner, CEO of Breadline Africa, Kanyisa Primary is a reminder of how long children in rural schools are sometimes expected to endure conditions that would be unacceptable elsewhere.
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Principal Mzukisi Boyana said the handover marks the end of years of frustration and concern about the safety of his learners. His excitement was clear when he saw the completed facilities, exclaiming:
“I’m going to have my own toilet now.”
It was a simple comment, but one that captured just how much the new facilities mean to the school community.
Breadline Africa has been replacing unsafe school pit toilets since 2023, providing sanitation solutions tailored to each school’s circumstances, including low-flush systems where water is available and dry sanitation systems in water-scarce communities.
The organisation also provides ongoing inspection and maintenance support to help ensure that the facilities remain safe and functional.
For Kanyisa’s 220 learners, the new toilets mean something very simple: they can now go to the toilet safely, privately and without fear.
Sources: Breadline Africa
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