March, 2024: Project Change in Kyeni Kya Ngungani Community!

Projects, like water itself, are fluid.

Sometimes, there are unique circumstances that can neither be resolved nor reversed that turn a well-loved water point into one that has failed to meet the expectations of both the community it serves and our own commitment to help provide access to safe and reliable water.

Unfortunately, this well is no longer meeting the water needs of the Kyeni Kya Ngungani Community, despite repeated efforts, spent resources, and a lot of patience from the community and our team.

The Water Project, the community members, and local leaders have decided together that decommissioning the well was the best course of action. As a result, we will no longer make monitoring visits here.

September, 2019: Kathonzweni Community Well Complete!

Kathonzweni Community, Kenya now has a new source of water thanks to your donation. A hand-dug well was constructed adjacent to a sand dam (go here to check it out). The dam was constructed on the riverbed, which will build up sand to raise the water table and naturally filter water.

It could take up to 3 years of rain (because sometimes it only rains once a year!) for this sand dam to reach maximum capacity. As the sand dam matures and stores more sand, a supply of water will be available for drinking from the well. With this water, the surrounding landscape will become lush and fertile.

"We are very excited about this project because the challenges we faced in regard to attaining clean drinking water will reduce once the sand dam harvests sufficient water for use," said Emma Munyao, a farmer who helped with the construction of the well.

"The distance we used to cover will be reduced and there will be more time for other income generating activities. We are very humbled by the support received to construct this water project."

Construction for this well was a success!

We worked with the Kyeni Kya Ngungani Self-Help Group for this project. The members and their families contributed materials and physical labor to complete the projects. In addition, they were trained on various skills such as bookkeeping, financial management, project management, group dynamics, and governance. We also conducted a hygiene and sanitation training to teach skills like soapmaking and improve behaviors such as handwashing.

When an issue arises concerning the water project, the group members are equipped with the necessary skills to rectify the problem and ensure it works appropriately. However, if the issue is beyond their capabilities, they can contact our team of field officers to assist them.

Hand-Dug Well Construction Process

We delivered the experts, materials, and tools, but the community helped get an extraordinary amount of work done too. They collected local materials to supplement the project, including sand, stones, and water.

A hole 7 feet in diameter is excavated up to a recommended depth of 25 feet. (Most hand-dug wells do not reach that depth due to the existence of hard rocks between 10-18 ft.).

The diameter shrinks to 5 feet when construction of the hand-dug well lining is completed. This lining is made of brick and mortar with perforations to allow for water to seep through. Sand builds up around the well walls, which will naturally filter the rainwater that is stored behind the dam.

Once the construction of the lining reaches ground level, a precast concrete slab is laid on top and joined to the wall using mortar. 4 bolts for the hand-pump are fixed on the slab during casting. The concrete needs to dry for 2 weeks before the pump is installed.

The mechanics arrive to install the pump as community members watch, learning how to manage simple maintenance tasks for themselves.

The well is then given another few days after installing the pump to allow the joints to completely dry. The pump was installed level with the top of the sand dam. As the dam matures, sand will build up to the top of the wall. Until then, people will climb the concrete steps to get their water.

New Knowledge

The hygiene and sanitation training was planned by the hygiene officer Christine Lucas and Kathonzweni area field officer Muendo Ndambuki. The group Chairman was informed on the plans for a 3-day training and communicated with his fellow members to mobilize them for the attendance of the training.

The venue for this training was at Bernard Muli’s homestead, a member of the group.

“We chose to meet at this homestead because he has a big space and enough shade to host all of us,” said Emma Munyao, the Chairlady of the group.

An average of 20 people, the majority of the self-help group members, attended for each of the 3 days. Among the attendees were 2 community leaders, one from a school and the other from a church. The members were very enthusiastic and interested in learning new information and this was a major contributor to their attendance.

The environment was conducive and friendly for training. However, the weather was somewhat chilly and windy throughout.

“Mr. Muli's homestead is also near our first sand dam and therefore we can easily access water to use during the training,” added Lavu Iluve, a member of the group.

The trainer conferred with the field staff about their visits to households and interviews with community members to determine which topics the community still had room for improvement. They decided to train on:

- Health problems in the community

- Good and bad hygiene behaviors

- How diseases spread and their prevention

- Choosing sanitation improvements

- Choosing improved hygiene behaviors

- Planning for behavioral change

- Handwashing

- Soapmaking

The level of participation was very good over the 3 days. There were demonstrative activities where the community members volunteered to participate. In addition, they were very active and expressive which made the training very lively.

The members were taken through training on how to make 2 types of soap. The demonstration involved a lot of stirring and the participants took turns in stirring and were patient enough until the final product was obtained. The participants were very happy to learn how to make these products.

The oldest member of this group is a 91-year-old who is very well conversed with the history of Kenya. During the training, as the members stirred the soap he started singing historic songs for them and this made them laugh a lot making the training interesting and therefore memorable.

Mixing the soap

“We are very happy to learn the whole process of making these products. This is something we have yearned for [for] a long time,” said Ann Samuel, a member of this group.

The participants were divided into 2 groups and were tasked to list the common diseases they suffer within the community, the season in which they occur, and their causes. A tool known as the seasonal calendar was used to train on this topic. Members later met in 1 larger group for presentations. The outcome of this discussion was very good as members listed the most common diseases they suffer, with waterborne diseases topping the list as the most common.

During the discussion on this topic, participants had many questions compared to the other topics. The trainer therefore took a lot of time covering this topic until they were satisfied. The participation made the topic memorable.

"The training was very good," said Emma Munyao.

"It will help us improve our hygiene and sanitation in our homesteads. We will train other members of our community on hygiene and sanitation and this will lead to reduced cases of diarrhea diseases."

Thank you for making all of this possible!

June, 2019: Kithuiya Community Hand-Dug Well Underway

People living in Kithuiya Community walk a long way just to get dirty water from open scoop holes. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to solve this issue by building a water point and much more.

Get to know this community through the narrative and pictures we’ve posted, and read about this water, sanitation, and hygiene project. We look forward to reaching out again with news of success!