Malinda FYM Primary - School

Project Snapshot

Country: Kenya

GPS Coordinates:
  Latitude 0.773674
  Longitude 34.519058

Impact:
  Total Served: 500

Status:  Completed (?)

Completion Date (or estimate): 08/31/2011

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Note: This project has moved from its original location at Toloso.

This information was provided by our partner IcFEM

Malinda FYM Primary School

Chesikaki is high up on the slopes of Mount Elgon near the border with Uganda, with several rises and valleys providing the backdrop to communities with a recently troubled past. Tribal clashes resulted in tensions between the Bukusu, Teso and Sabot communities, although peace-building work between the communities has been healing relationships and increasing the cohesion among the tribes.

The roads to Chesikaki are some of the poorest roads in Western Kenya with many people using donkeys to transport goods, yet the views from Chesikaki are stunning. It is a beautiful place to go walking, with several cascading waterfalls in the rocky foothills of Mount Elgon. Chesikaki is particularly known as a coffee growing area with 5 coffee pulping factories which produce some of the best coffee beans in Kenya.  

Jairus Barasa lives 100m from the school site, and is a pastor and farmer. He notes that typically it is women that collect the water, but that there is a long distance to the nearest water source. Those collecting the water from the village will usually leave home at 5am, walking 5km each way to join long queues at the water point for dirty water, and returning after 11am. The strain of carrying the water along the hilly route is causing health problems for the women, yet the water itself is not clean which causes frequent water-borne diseases.

He has great hopes for the future of the village and for his family. Jairus expects that access to clean water will reduce the number of diseases, provide opportunities to increase the families’ income by allowing them to grow vegetables (such as onions and tomatoes), and reclaim time for the women to spend more time at their home compounds tending to the shamba (domestic farm) and looking after the families.

Another local resident, Violet Wambole (a housewife who lives 500m from the school site) estimates that at least 2,000 – 3,000 people will use the site when the work is completed, and is excited since clean water is considered so precious in the community.

GPS is approximate

Project Photos

Recent Project Updates

01/16/2012: Malinda pump installed and functioning!

We are delighted to be able to bring you news that the handpump at Malinda hasd been successfully installed, and the hardware component of this project is now complete. In the coming days IcFEM will return to celebrate the handing over of this project for the community to manage (with support from IcFEM).

This project has been one of a number that were started in early 2011 and suffered multiple set backs, largely due to complications we had with the drilling contractor in Kenya as well as a communication issue with the District Water Office of the government. IcFEM have worked very hard to overcome these challenges and it is testament to this that the project is now functioning, and providing the community with a clean water source. Great news!  

10/05/2011: Project Update at Malinda FYM Primary School

IcFEM have completed the community education, and report a great response from the community and a real improvement on the ground. Hygiene and sanitation has been a focus of this education, but IcFEM have also worked through ideas relating to water source management and sustainability. 

The borehole has been drilled, and it looks at this stage like the well has sufficient water for a handpump. This is great news! 

However, during this time there have also been some logistical issues with the District Water Office in Western Kenya relating to the paper work required. Ourselves at TWP, the contractor we hired for the borehole drilling, and IcFEM are all working hard to push these issues through, and hope to be able to complete this project soon. 

07/11/2011: Community Training in Malinda

Our Implementing Partner Reports...

Community Training
Community health representatives from local villages gathered to receive training on sanitation and hygiene. This included theory and practical training, based on Tear Fund’s PILLARS guide on ‘Encouraging Good Hygiene and Sanitation’. As well as building a demonstration ‘Tippy Tap’ during the course, the community health representatives also practiced their hand washing technique. Following these training days, the health representatives have already started sharing the knowledge they received at village level meetings in order to widen the impact of the project, and improve the overall understanding of sanitation and hygiene in Malinda and the surrounding villages.

Self-Initiated Community Project
Following initial mobilisation and training activities with villages around the site, local leaders identified the issue of access to the school site to be a major barrier to the success of the project. To address this, a group of volunteers took initiative and organised a community work day to flatten and improve the main access routes from local villages.

Water Survey
A survey team from project partner Staff of Hope visited the Malinda FYM Primary School to undertake the survey which residents hoped would confirm the presence of water to allow the project to proceed. School staff and local community leaders joined the survey team as the carried out tests across the site to identify the depth of the water, and the best location for the borehole to be drilled.

05/03/2011: Malinda Primary - Update

This project is one of ten that form a ten project programme with IcFEM and Water For All.