Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Program: Wells for Kenya

Impact: 500 Served

Project Phase: 
Under Community Care
Initial Installation: Apr 2013

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is part of Bridge Water Project's program in Western Kenya. What follows is direct from them:

PROPOSED PROJECT:

The proposed project Viyalo  secondary school a mixed day and boarding  has been in existence since 1974 by the saints of Friends Viyalo church with the aim of eradicating illiteracy within the communities where it serves. And also to reduce distances covered by children while looking for Education from schools which were not near hence causing most of them drop out of school. Despite many challenges the school has  their main problem is lack of quality water for the students to use for drinking , cooking and especially that the school is bordering a primary School and Viyalo Friends church, the water would be of great use to them. The School has no piped water and they rely mainly on Rain water which is poorly Harvested and during dry seasons then the Girls have to walk to a spring 3km down the valley to look for unsafe water and up steep slope during dry season and this really affects the performance of the Girls and their behavior in General.

CURRENT WATER SOURCE:

The students and pupils currently accesses water from Marande spring which is a 3 km away from the school compund. The water from the stream is turbid hence causing recurring problems of typhoid and cholera.  The Maranda spring is seasonal and does not give enough water leading to long queuing and by the time we visited it was drying up and the students claimed they waste a lot of time queuing hence wasting the time they should be in class reading. The villagers are drawing water at the same time as the students and conflicts sometimes arise. The turbidity value is 80 ways low the recommended standard by World Health Organization.

POPULATION:

The school where the well is proposed has a population of 485 students and 9 teachers, the primary school has 670 students and 12 teachers and the community people are approximated at 200.

HYGIENE AND SANITATION:

The school has 10 pit latrines for the students and four for teachers. They clean them every morning despite the scarcity of water whereas a hand washing point is stationed outside teacher’s toilets and one tip tap washing point outside the student’s toilets. From the walk in the school compound they have a compost pit where they throw the litter, Cloth lines which students dry their clothes after washing and generally the compound looks clean.

ACCESSING THE NEED:

Water is greatly needed for drinking and cooking and the students domestic use and stop them from walking long distances to fetch water for their use and also improve sanitation and hygiene standards of the entire school.

PROJECT BENEFICIARIES:

The project will highly benefit the students and pupils of Viyalo and the community at large if the well will be drilled.

WATER/SANITATION COMMITTEE:

The school committee will be in charge of the water system. The water committee which is not yet to be formed will comprise of representatives from the primary and community leaders as well.

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Project Photos


Project Type

Abundant water is often right under our feet! Beneath the Earth’s surface, rivers called aquifers flow through layers of sediment and rock, providing a constant supply of safe water. For borehole wells, we drill deep into the earth, allowing us to access this water which is naturally filtered and protected from sources of contamination at the surface level. First, we decide where to drill by surveying the area and determining where aquifers are likely to sit. To reach the underground water, our drill rigs plunge through meters (sometimes even hundreds of meters!) of soil, silt, rock, and more. Once the drill finds water, we build a well platform and attach a hand pump. If all goes as planned, the community is left with a safe, closed water source providing around five gallons of water per minute! Learn more here!


Contributors

Project Sponsor - Kevin Hiebert