Project Status



Project Type:  Protected Spring

Program: Kenyan Spring Protection

Impact: 500 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Sep 2015

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 03/13/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is a part of our shared program with Western Water and Sanitation Forum (WEWASAFO). Our team is pleased to directly share the below report (edited for clarity, as needed).

Background Information

This unprotected spring is located in Ebushisoka Village, Kushiku sub-location, Mulwanda location, Khwisero District of Kakamega County. The spring flows through the Emunga'bo primary school compound. It serves a total population of approximately 500 pupils, with primary composed of 206 boys and 196 girls and early childhood composed of 60 boys and 40 girls. (While this many people may have access on any given day, realistically a single water source can only support a population of 350-500 people. To learn more, click here. This community is receiving a second project, a rainwater harvesting system. To view this project, click here.)

This spring water is used for drinking, cooking, and cleaning purposes in the compound.

Justification

The school spring is contaminated by surface run-off and student activity in the area. The Headmaster reports that students and staff have used this source for years without boiling or purifying the water in any way. This has resulted in water-borne diseases like Typhoid, Cholera, and Malaria.

Sanitation is also an issue in and around the school compound. Many community members living around the school do not have well-built latrines, while others have none at all.

Parents and pupils alike are urging WEWASAFO to consider their area for a project.

Results of the Project:

Spring Protection

Protection of the Emunga'bo spring is complete and now in use. The water is used for drinking, cooking, and cleaning purposes in the school.

Before, the spring water was contaminated by bacteria. But now, with proper protection and a good catchment area along with proper drainage ditches, water from the source is safe for human consumption. Pupils will be able to access clean water throughout the year, and the cases of waterborne illnesses are expected to decrease, maybe even disappear.

Household Sanitation Platforms

Sanitation platforms for households around the spring area have been installed and are now in use. The teachers and parents who benefited are very happy to use the new facilities. These platforms are easy to use and easy to clean, and other parents are eager to replicate them in their own homes. This will go a long way in improving sanitation in this community.

Project Updates


July, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Emunga'bo Primary School Spring

Our teams are working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us in our fight against the virus while maintaining access to clean, reliable water.

Installing a prevention reminders chart at the spring

We are carrying out awareness and prevention trainings on the virus in every community we serve. Very often, our teams are the first (and only) to bring news and information of the virus to rural communities like Emunga'bo, Kenya.

Showing how to build and use a tippy tap handwashing station

While Kenyan schools are closed until at least January 2021 due to the pandemic, we were sure to not leave out the people of Emunga'bo who use the spring at the primary school from our COVID-19 trainings. Because school was not in session, we were able to meet outside the building as our training venue.

Handwashing session

We trained more than 22 people on the symptoms, transmission routes, and prevention of COVID-19. Due to public gathering concerns, we worked with trusted community leaders to gather a select group of community members who would then relay the information learned to the rest of their family and friends.

Handwashing

We covered essential hygiene lessons:

- Demonstrations on how to build a simple handwashing station

- Proper handwashing technique

- The importance of using soap and clean water for handwashing

- Cleaning and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces including at the water point.

Handwashing

We covered COVID-19-specific guidance in line with national and international standards:

- Information on the symptoms and transmission routes of COVID-19

- What social distancing is and how to practice it

- How to cough into an elbow

- Alternative ways to greet people without handshakes, fist bumps, etc.

- How to make and properly wear a facemask.

Homemade face mask tutorial

During training, we installed a new handwashing station with soap near the community’s water point, along with a sign with reminders of what we covered.

Due to the rampant spread of misinformation about COVID-19, we also dedicated time to a question and answer session to help debunk rumors about the disease and provide extra information where needed.

A man tries on a mask made at training

The village elder requested community members to ensure that handwashing is practiced properly, people wear masks while in public, and see to it that the curfew time does no find them out of the house.

We continue to stay in touch with this community as the pandemic progresses. We want to ensure their water point remains functional and their community stays informed about the virus.

Trainer shows how to properly put on a wear a mask

Water access, sanitation, and hygiene are at the crux of disease prevention. You can directly support our work on the frontlines of COVID-19 prevention in all of the communities we serve while maintaining their access to safe, clean, and reliable water.




Project Photos


Project Type

Springs are water sources that come from deep underground, where the water is filtered through natural layers until it is clean enough to drink. Once the water pushes through the surface of the Earth, however, outside elements like waste and runoff can contaminate the water quickly. We protect spring sources from contamination with a simple waterproof cement structure surrounding layers of clay, stone, and soil. This construction channels the spring’s water through a discharge pipe, making water collection easier, faster, and cleaner. Each spring protection also includes a chlorine dispenser at the waterpoint so community members can be assured that the water they are drinking is entirely safe. Learn more here!


Contributors

KHS Girls's League (Social Studies Teacher Appreciation)
Tony and Michelle
Tony and Michelle Nehring
Pughtown Baptist Church
some 7th graders at Live Oak School in San Francisco
The Hermosillo Family
Tony and Michelle's Wedding
D. Kennedy
SGI Humanitarian Initiative
95 individual donor(s)