A Year Later: Nzung'u Hand-Dug Well

December, 2017

This well provides us with clean drinking water all year round. Distance to the water point has been reduced, saving us more time for household activities.

A Year Later: Nzung'u Hand-Dug Well


A year ago, generous donors helped build a hand-dug well for the Tei wa Nzung'u Self-Help Group in Kenya. Because of these gifts and our monthly donors, partners are able to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the actual water project. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – we’re excited to share this one from our partners Titus Mbithi with you.


Tei wa Nzung'u group members are very happy because the distance to water has been reduced to less than a kilometer after completion of their first hand-dug well and sand dam system. Just next to this water system, there are healthy and leafy kales and spinach growing. These act as the group's source of income, for whatever they don't eat themselves they sell in the local market.

Thanks to the surplus of water the sand dam provides, this hand-dug well is able to pump clean, safe water from the catchment area. With clean water nearby, waterborne diseases are history. The group members are even fetching extra clean water from the well to sell.

Mrs. Mwendwa pumping water for Mrs. Muthini.

Kasyoka Mwendwa is the chairwoman in charge of this sand dam and its adjacent hand-dug well. She met us there to discuss the changes her group has witnessed since last year. "Initially, we used to get water from a river which is three kilometers away. We used to line up for long hours but currently, we only take 30 minutes. We now use the time saved to do constructive work like tending to vegetables. Watering our livestock is no longer a problem, and our cattle survive the dry season unlike before when water was a big problem... Last but not least, we now have safe drinking water and the issue of amoeba, typhoid, and other waterborne diseases have disappeared," she shared.

Mrs. Mwikali Muthini

Mwikali Muthini agreed, saying "This well provides us with clean drinking water all year round. Distance to the water point has been reduced, saving us more time for household activities."

The one issue we heard about is how wild animals and livestock are not kept far enough away from the well. Community members have been leading their donkeys up to the well because donkeys are used to carry full containers of water. Dirty animals like donkeys should not be allowed to wait right by the well - These animals are endangering the cleanliness of drinking water. This makes us so grateful for our five-year program that gives us the opportunity to continue training the community.


The Water Project and our partners are committed to consistent monitoring of each water source. Our monitoring and evaluation program, made possible by monthly donors, allows us to visit communities up to four times a year. Read more about our program and how you can help.



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