Giving Update: Musiachi Community, Thomas Spring

Thomas Spring in Musiachi has been providing improved water quantity and quality for human consumption for community members here ever since its protection last year. The water is now easily accessible even during the rainy season due to the installation of a discharge pipe and stairs that prevent the risk of slipping and falling. 

The community members are very proud of their water because the discharge remained constant even during the prolonged drought, one of the harshest on record in Kenya. Community members are planning to plant a live fence around the spring because the dried tree branches are not long-lasting, and they wish to maintain and protect their spring diligently.

Juma Ambundo, a 56-year-old community member who uses Thomas Spring, reflected on the changes in his community since this project's completion last year.

(To hear Juma, check out his video on the "photos" tab of this project page!)

"Since the spring was protected last year, we now drink clean water. During the rainy seasons [before protection], we had to pull out mud from the spring before accessing the water. Our women and children used to suffer from diarrhea and stomachache but now we hardly hear them complaining. The training that was conducted in the community empowered the chairman [of the water committee] with authority to punish naughty children who used to [relieve] themselves in sugarcane and maize plantations. This has reduced the rate of open defecation in the community."

9-year-old Austine Amumbwe shared what these changes have meant for him as a child in his village:

"I no longer see fetching water as a punishment. The discharge pipe has made it easy, quick, and enjoyable for us. My mother does not even have to ask me to get water because I voluntarily take my container and get her water."

Austine waves from the spring