Giving Update: Utuneni Community

September, 2019

A year ago, your generous donation helped Utuneni Community in Kenya access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Angela Muema. Thank you!

Giving Update: Utuneni Community


The community members in Utuneni village are basking in the abundance of water attained at the shallow well constructed alongside the sand dam a year ago.

"It takes less than 10 minutes to fetch water from the shallow well. The water is very fresh for drinking and cooking. Household chores are done easily and faster," said Angela Muema.

Utuneni community members have been getting clean drinking water which is fresh and contains no salinity - a problem they encountered with their previous water sources. The distance covered to fetch water has been reduced tremendously and a large group of people from the community can now access the water source.

"We used to walk between 4 and 5 kilometers daily in order to fetch a 20-liter jerrycan of water. Now we walk for less than a kilometer," said Benson Mutua, Chair of the water committee.

"We are now able to save money because we used to have to buy jerrycans of salty water from the previous source. Now, the water we drink is very fresh and has been flowing throughout the year."

The environment in Utuneni has also changed for the better. It is visibly greener. Water flows throughout the year and the self-help group members are earning an income from selling water to other community members. The water sales business booms during the drought period because the water source is at the center of the village. The group is determined to use the income they make from the water sales to establish a lending program so they can pay for things that will help improve their lives.

"We are very proud of ourselves for the efforts we put in towards the construction of this project," said Mr. Mutua.



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