Nine Years of Safe Water Almost Washed Away — Until Help Arrived

The Break

Back in July, cracks opened in the wall of a protected spring in Elufafwa Community, Kenya.

When 30-year-old Brenda Nelisha saw the damage, her heart sank. Every day, she used that spring to provide her family with safe drinking water. Now, what would happen?

“I was very worried,” Brenda said. 

That worry reminded Brenda of nine years before. Life had been much tougher then.

“I used to collect water from a scoop hole that we had dug,” Brenda said. “The place was always overcrowded, untidy, and the quality of water was a major challenge because we shared it with domestic animals, like dogs and cattle.”

The protected spring structure had faithfully served her community since The Water Project installed it in July 2016. It improved the quality of her drinking water, and the stairs made access easier, especially in slippery wet seasons. 

Brenda remembered spending long minutes waiting in line for her turn to fetch water at the old scoop hole as her neighbors scooped water up from the ground one jugful at a time. She remembered filling her jug so carefully in hopes of avoiding sediment and algae in her drinking glass while impatient neighbors stared holes into her back.

Now, life was different. Those nine years since The Water Project installed a protected spring in Elufafwa had gifted Brenda with four beautiful children.

“I could not imagine my young children getting exposed to contaminated water,” Brenda said. 

The Repair

So, what exactly had happened to Brenda’s spring?

“A field officer identified a major crack in the spring wall during a quarterly monitoring visit in July,” explained our Director of Monitoring, Evaluation, Resolution, and Learning Allison Gregory. “The crack was severe enough to threaten the wall’s structural integrity, so the officer opened an mWater issue survey, and scheduled a repair visit.”

During the few days between the discovery of the crack and our artisans’ repair, Brenda made do. Water was still flowing from the spring’s discharge pipe, so she didn’t have to bend and scoop up water over and over. But she did have to make unwelcome adjustments to ensure her family’s good health and ease her own mind.

“My children are still young and vulnerable,” Brenda explained. “Even though we have a chlorine dispenser, I’ve had to boil drinking water just to be sure that its quality has not been compromised. I never want to gamble with the health of my children! Boiling requires extra firewood and also consumes time that would have been spent doing something else.”

Also during that interim period, Brenda’s fellow community members helped the incoming construction artisans by collecting locally available construction materials like sand and bringing them to the spring. The reason for this is twofold: it helps keep our costs of repairs down and reinforces the community’s sense of ownership for their own water point.

When the day of the repair finally arrived, our construction artisan cleared the site of any encroaching vegetation. Then, he extended the length of the discharge pipe out past where he would be working so community members could still fetch water during the repair. 

Once the prep work was done, it was time to tackle that crack in the wall.

“Our skilled artisan used cement to patch the crack, ensuring that the wall remains standing,” Allison said. “He also addressed some minor damage to the walls, collection area, stairwell, and stone pitching: the kind of wear and tear that we commonly see on older springs.”

The repair itself took time, and then the waterproof cement needed time to dry and cure. But soon, everything was ready, and it was time to remove all the repair provisions and reveal the newly repaired spring to the community members.

“If you had not shown up to repair this water point, the broken wing wall and head wall would have completely collapsed, resulting in seriously compromised water quality,” Brenda said.

Allison echoed Brenda’s concern, showing how important it was that we caught this issue early before it could further damage such a valued water point.

“If the spring had not been repaired, the crack could have led to the collapse of the spring wall, which would certainly have had implications for water access,” Allison said. “A well-maintained spring can serve communities like Elufafwa for many years, making these repair visits essential to ensuring long-term water access.”

The Return of Safe Water for Brenda and Her Family

With the spring back in working order, it meant Brenda could stop sourcing extra firewood and boiling every container of drinking water, and get back to her everyday routine. We were honored that she took our field officers around her compound for a tour to show us all the ways she uses water to keep her household running.

For Brenda, the relief was palpable.

“It is such an honor to know that there are people out there who genuinely care about my community so much so as to ensure our water point is working optimally,” Brenda shared. “For context, I would like to let you know that there is a well at the nearby primary school, but the pump keeps breaking down because nobody monitors it.”

Brenda has witnessed what happens when people build a water point, dust off their hands, and walk away patting themselves on the back for a job well done. But we at The Water Project are proud to say that, no matter how many years have passed since we’ve installed a water source, keeping safe water flowing for people like Brenda is always our top priority.

People like you are the ones who help us maintain and repair vital water sources like Brenda’s. Anyone who donates to our Water Promise program funds life-saving work like maintenance, repairs, water quality testing, and continuous research into how we can improve for future projects — and future generations.

“I will probably never meet any of the people who contribute money to ensure myself, my children, and my neighbors have access to a fully functional water point,” Brenda said. “Nevertheless, it makes me feel special and want to meet these people just to pass my gratitude to them.”

“To every donor and well-wisher out there who has given their money, no matter how little, to ensure my community and others get safe, clean and reliable water, just keep doing what you are doing,” Brenda concluded. “You have transformed many lives for the better, and you truly are appreciated for the great job you’re doing. Maybe someday I’ll get the opportunity to appreciate you in the African way.”

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