Esumeyia Primary School Well

A new well has (finally) been completed at the Esumeyia Primary School in Kakamega.  This well now serves the 720 students at the school and their parents, a total of over 1,000 people!

The well is located about 19km from Kakamega in Western Kenya.  It is one of a cluster of wells we continue to build at schools in the area.

Lat. 0.28712 E – Long. 34.75619 N  (confirmation pending)

The project is being overseen by a local water committee of 4 women and 3 men.  They are responsible for the management and maintenance of the well.  The committee mobilized the community and helped raise the initial $300USD needed to complete the geological surveys and permit process.  This local investment of time and money brings ownership to the project.  It helps ensure the well project will be maintained over the long-term, providing a sustainable water solution.

The school leaders have been instructed how to keep the area around the well safe from contamination and will receive follow-up training in sanitation and hygiene later this Fall.

Previously, the students gathered water from over 2.5km away at a passing stream.

Our implementing team said… “We interviewed the school ‘Head Teacher’ and a student.  They both said that their new water source is going to provide clean and safe water which they know will be  reliable.  They also said that the issues such as Cholera and Dysentry caused by their previous water source…they’ve given them a bye.'”

This well presented many challenges during construction which led to extensive delays in getting water to flow.  After the original borehole was drilled, one section of casing was apparently not properly seated.  This caused the well, over the following weeks, to back-fill with sand and gravel pack.  Our team returned to the site and had no choice but to remove the casing and drill out the hole again.  It’s part of this work.  Sometimes things don’t go as planned.  Having a local drill team however, meant we could get back to the well and fix it in weeks, not months or years.

This well was funded in February 2009 by:

Friendship Missionary Baptist Church – Pontiac, MI