Project Status



Project Type:  Dug Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 200 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Oct 2016

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 09/04/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is a part of our shared program with Safe Water and Sustainable Hygiene Initiative (SAWASHI). Our team is pleased to directly share the below report (edited for clarity, as needed).

Welcome to the Community

Luvambo Community rests on rocky land between two other communities, Mahusi and Namushiya. The huge stones dotting this area make it almost impossible to farm anything. To take advantage of this situation, community members earn money by breaking the stones and selling them to construction companies. This is the daily work done by men. Women are engaged in small business such as selling vegetables and bananas in the nearby shopping center, or just focus on doing household chores and taking care of the children.

The children attend the local public primary school. Most community members are Christians who belong to different denominations such as Seventh Day Adventist, Friends Church Quakers and Pentecostal Assembles of God.

Water Situation

Since men are the primary breadwinners, women are those most responsible for fetching water. This community does not have a local water source, so women and children are forced to leave the village in search of water. There are two springs that women and children frequent, one protected and one unprotected. An unprotected spring is in its natural state, but a protected spring has a discharge pipe and catchment area that protect the water from contaminants. Unfortunately, this protected spring is a lengthy walk. It's over two kilometers away! But if a family needs drinking water, this is the only place to go, since the unprotected spring is open to contaminants that are washed into the water during rains.

Once delivered back home, water is poured from the plastic jerrycan into a covered clay pot and reserved for drinking. Any remainder is left in the fetching container and used for domestic chores. If the water is visibly contaminated, a mother will filter out that dirt before serving it to her family. Filtering or not, community members commonly suffer from typhoid and diarrhea. Julius Shikuku told us, "My grandchildren are often taken to the nearby dispensary for vomiting and diarrhea."

Sanitation Situation

Around half of households in Luvambo Community have a pit latrine. These are made of mud and floored with wooden slats. Not many families have a bathing room for practicing personal hygiene, while a few more have helpful tools such as dish racks and clotheslines. We couldn't find anywhere for hand-washing.

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Community members will be trained for two days on applicable hygiene and sanitation practices. The facilitator will use the PHAST (Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Training) method to teach about topics like:

– Proper water storage and treatment

– How to build a hand-washing station and how to use it

– Proper food preparation and storage

– Waste disposal

– How disease is spread and how to block its transmission

We also plan to supplement the "DIY hand-washing stations" with two of our own more permanent solutions that come in the form of water taps on metal stands. These two stations will be delivered to the well location so that locals can wash their hands before using the pump. Training will also result in the formation of a water user committee which will oversee, manage, and maintain the rehabilitated well.

Plans: Well Rehabilitation

The well that we plan to rehabilitate is currently not in use, and is thus covered with a stone slab. This well was installed by the Kenya Finland Company in 1987, but became non-functional so long ago that nobody remembers quite what happened. The pump is missing, and there's no way for community members to access the water inside. We measured that the well has a total depth of 8.4 meters and a static water level of 3.9 meters.

Since the well has been unprotected by a well pad, it will require extensive cleaning. We will have to lower someone to clear out garbage and waste that has been washed in during the rains. A well pad will need to be constructed with cement so a new AfriDev pump can be installed. Right before installing the full pump, we will test pump to estimate the expected yield.

The rehabilitation of this old water source will bring clean water back to the community. Women and children waste a lot of valuable time trekking to and from the springs to fetch water that is easily contaminated on the way back home. We anticipate that with a well that yields safe drinking water, cases of typhoid and diarrhea will drastically decrease. People will not only have the extra time to work, but will also be healthy enough to work towards improving life in Luvambo.

Project Updates


December, 2017: A Year Later: Luvambo Community

A year ago, generous donors helped rehabilitate a well and build handwashing stations for the Luvambo Community 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 partner, Paul Weringa, with you.




Project Photos


Project Type

Hand-dug wells have been an important source of water throughout human history! Now, we have so many different types of water sources, but hand-dug wells still have their place. Hand dug wells are not as deep as borehole wells, and work best in areas where there is a ready supply of water just under the surface of the ground, such as next to a mature sand dam. Our artisans dig down through the layers of the ground and then line the hole with bricks, stone, or concrete, which prevent contamination and collapse. Then, back up at surface level, we install a well platform and a hand pump so people can draw up the water easily.


A Year Later: Luvambo Community

September, 2017

“We used to walk 2 km or more for search of clean water. Women complained of chest and back pains, a result of carrying heavy buckets on our heads and walking long distances. Today, our women and children are stronger and no more complains.”

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Luvambo Community.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Luvambo Community maintain access to safe, reliable water. Together, they keep The Water Promise.

We’re confident you'll love joining this world-changing group committed to sustainability!

A year ago, generous donors helped rehabilitate a well and build handwashing stations for the Luvambo Community 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 partner, Paul Weringa, with you.

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The community has experienced great change since the well has been rehabilitated. Washing and cleaning has become an easy task to women in this community. This is because the distance to the rehabilitated borehole is reduced by a kilometer to most of the community households. Initially, women and children had to walk more than 2km in search of clean water. Because clean water is closer to their homes, women have enough time to do other chores like preparing meals to their school going children and also do some farming activities.

Truphena Wanyonyi, a female community member remembers what life was like before the water project was completed. “We used to walk 2 km or more for search of clean water. Women complained of chest and back pains, a result of carrying heavy buckets on our heads and walking long distances. Today, our women and children are stronger and no more complains.”

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“Typhoid and diarrhea used to be our own diseases,” Truphena continues. “We didn't know that one day, we will be free from this outbreak and save our little money for other important life issues. Today, we have minimal cases of typhoid and diarrhea. I also don’t need to plan when I do my cleaning. I do it when I feel like doing it because water is within my reach.”

Diana Kasiti, age 7, remembers being sick before too. “When I used to drink water from the stream, I would have diarrhea every time. I do not experience that anymore.”

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We will continue to monitor this project to ensure that it is sustainable. We will also engage the water user committee, with community involvement, to build a fence around the borehole.

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.

 


Navigating through intense dry spells, performing preventative maintenance, conducting quality repairs when needed and continuing to assist community leaders to manage water points are all normal parts of keeping projects sustainable. The Water Promise community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Luvambo Community maintain access to safe, reliable water.

We’d love for you to join this world-changing group committed to sustainability.

The most impactful way to continue your support of Luvambo Community – and hundreds of other places just like this – is by joining our community of monthly givers.

Your monthly giving will help provide clean water, every month... keeping The Water Promise.