July, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Utuneni Community

Our teams are working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us in our fight against the virus while maintaining access to clean, reliable water.

We are carrying out awareness and prevention trainings on the virus in every community we serve. Very often, our teams are the first (and only) to bring news and information of the virus to rural communities like Utuneni, Kenya.

We trained community members on the symptoms, transmission routes, and prevention of COVID-19.

Due to public gathering concerns, we worked with trusted community leaders to gather a select group of community members who would then relay the information learned to the rest of their family and friends.

We covered essential hygiene lessons:

- Demonstrations on how to build a simple handwashing station

- Proper handwashing technique

- The importance of using soap and clean water for handwashing

- Cleaning and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces including at the water point.

We covered COVID-19-specific guidance in line with national and international standards:

- Information on the symptoms and transmission routes of COVID-19

- What social distancing is and how to practice it

- How to cough into an elbow

- Alternative ways to greet people without handshakes, fist bumps, etc.

- How to make and properly wear a facemask.

During training, we installed a new handwashing station with soap near the community’s water point,

Due to the rampant spread of misinformation about COVID-19, we also dedicated time to a question and answer session to help debunk rumors about the disease and provide extra information where needed.

Water access, sanitation, and hygiene are at the crux of disease prevention. You can directly support our work on the frontlines of COVID-19 prevention in all of the communities we serve while maintaining their access to safe, clean, and reliable water.

February, 2020: Utuneni Community hand-dug well complete!

Utuneni Community 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. Recent rains have helped the dam begin to build up sand and store 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.

Hand-Dug Well

Construction for this well was a success!

"The new water point will be very beneficial to this entire community. The availability of water has been made easier for all of us," said Benson Kyuli, a farmer from the community.

"We are grateful that now all our group members can access water at a distance of fewer than 100 meters from their homesteads. The water is clean and fresh for direct consumption which is very pleasing for us all."

We worked with the Ngwatanio Ya Kinyongo Self-Help Group for this project. The members and their families contributed materials and physical labor to complete the project. 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 to help 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 trainer conferred with the field staff about their previous visits to households and interviews with community members to determine which topics the community still could improve upon. The attendance was as expected with 38 members and 2 village elders. It was a commendable number of people because the construction of the project was ongoing and this is the third training with this group.

Based on discussions with group members and an evaluation of their progress over the past three years, we decided to train on nutrition; disease transmission and prevention; and soapmaking.

The training was held under a tree at their first sand dam site. The environment was conducive for learning. During the morning hours, it was very chilly but the atmosphere got warmer as the day elapsed. In the afternoon, it was relatively warm.

The participation levels of the community members was very impressive throughout the training sessions. All the members participated in the training by asking questions, airing their concerns and volunteering to take part in the demonstrative activities. The session was very lively and enjoyable throughout the day.

In the first topic, community members alongside the facilitator discussed in depth on transmission of diseases and the major carriers in their homes. This involves; feces, fingers, flies, fields, fluids, food among others. The community members were sensitized on practices of maintaining high sanitation standards such as hand washing, cleaning food before eating and cleaning the surfaces where food is prepared.

For any social and economic development, adequate sanitation in conjunction with good hygiene and safe water are essential to good health. Inadequate access to clean water and poor sanitation results to the spread of deadly diseases.

"The training has been instrumental in empowering us to be independent and grasp the knowledge of owning the projects as our own," said Mr. Kyuli.

Thank you for making all of this possible!

January, 2020: Utuneni Community project underway!

A severe clean water shortage at Utuneni Community drains time, energy, and health from people here. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

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