A Year Later: Kasioni Community

A year ago, generous donors helped construct a sand dam and hand-dug well for Kasioni Community in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – and we’re excited to share this one from Lilian Kendi with you.

Community members are in a euphoric state since the completion of their sand dam and well. A consistent, sufficient supply of water in their area has enabled them to farm different crops such as bananas, maize, kale, spinach and pawpaws. These families are now thankful for food security.

The majority of the community members wash their hands with clean water before eating meals as well as after visiting latrines. This has led to lower disease prevalence among the community members.

We spoke with Mr. John Ngumbi and Mrs. Bendetta Muinde about other developments since the project last year.

From left to right: Mrs. Bendetta Nduku Nuinde, Lilian Kendi, Mr. John Ngumbi

"This water project has helped members of this community greatly because we can farm easily. There is plenty of water flowing along the riverbed which is easy to tap for farming activities. We harvested the first vegetables from our [group] farm and sold them to the community members. We have also planted grass for our livestock," said Mr. Ngumbi.

Mr. Ngumbi pumping water

"The distance covered to access water is less, and it is less time-consuming because there are less lines. It takes between 10 and 15 minutes there and back. "

Mrs. Muinde proudly kneels by the pump she and her neighbors have relied on for the past year.

Mrs. Muinde echoed Mr. Ngumbi's comments.

"Water is a very important part of life," she said.

"In all honesty, the environment has changed. It is cooler, fresher and greener. It has also become an enjoyable task to fetch water at the shallow well because it takes less time and is also a shorter distance."

Construction of the dam and well is only one step along the journey toward sustainable access to clean water. The Water Project is committed to consistent monitoring of each water source. Our monitoring and evaluation program, made possible by donors like you, allows us to maintain our relationships with communities by visiting up to 4 times each year to ensure that the water points are safe and reliable.

This is just one of the many ways that we monitor projects and communicate with you. Additionally, you can always check the functionality status and our project map to see how all of our water points are performing, based on our consistent monitoring data.

This is only possible because of the web of support and trust built between The Water Project, our local teams, the community, and you. We are excited to stay in touch with this community and support their journey with safe water.

Read more about The Water Promise and how you can help.