Project Status



Project Type:  Dug Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 300 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Nov 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

Timbito Community is located in Malava, Kakamega. It is home to approximately 300 people from 30 different households. Most families rely on farming as their source of income, and specialize in maize, beans, and other vegetable crops. They take their produce to Butali Market to sell and trade to get what they need.

Water Situation

After years of wasting time and effort in search of clean water, Timbito Community decided to try accessing the water under their own village. They dug down to start a well, reaching a depth of seven meters. The good thing is that they reached a good supply of water. The unfortunate is that the community didn't have the money or resources to finish their well properly. The well has a pad, but is covered with only a tin sheet. There wasn't enough money to buy a pump in order to protect and safely access the water inside.

Without a pump, the community is forced to use rope and a bucket to draw water. The constant dipping of a dirty jerrycan and rope further contaminates the well's water. The main source of contamination is water both from rain and the well itself that washes waste back inside.

Women bring 20-liter jerrycans to fill with that bucket. Once delivered home, the water is separated into different containers. A clay pot is used for drinking water, and the rest of the water meant for cleaning is stored in the same plastic jerrycan.

Because of these conditions, community members often complain of diarrhea and typhoid. Money made at the market is turned right around and used for treatment.

Sanitation Situation

A little more than half of households have a pit latrine made of mud and roofed with iron sheets or grass. The same number of families have bathing rooms dedicated for personal hygiene.

Most homes also have dish racks and clotheslines to dry their things up off the ground. However, no hand-washing stations were found in Timbito Community. Garbage is separated into two pits: one is for compost to be used on the farm, and the other is for general trash that is eventually burned.

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training and Hand-Washing Stations

Our hygiene and sanitation training will address issues described above and many more. We will treat how to properly fetch, treat, and store water. We will train on proper food preparation and storage. Training will emphasize the importance of having and using a latrine, as well as having a place to wash hands and how to do so. We believe that hand-washing is one of the most important factors in preventing sickness, so the two hand-washing stations will be delivered by the project’s completion.

Training will last for two days. Those who attend will form a water user committee that takes responsibility for overseeing and maintaining the  rehabilitated well.

Plans: Well Rehabilitation

The community living around the well claims that it doesn't dry up, even during the driest of seasons. This reliability of this source makes it a great candidate for well rehabilitation. The well is lined with bricks. It has a well pad with a hole that is covered with an iron sheet.

The well pad is worn out and cracked. Rehabilitation will begin with the reconstruction of a new well pad. The well will then be flushed, test pumped, and chlorinated. To finish the work, a new AfriDev pump will be bolted to the well pad.

At the time of our visit, we measured the total depth as seven meters and the static water level as five meters.

We believe that with the rehabilitation of this well, the community will have a safe source of clean water. Cases of waterborne disease will decrease, giving community members here more time on their farms and less money wasted on medicines and treatments.

Project Updates


November, 2017: A Year Later: Timbito Community

A year ago, generous donors helped rehabilitate a well for Timbito 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 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: Timbito Commuity

September, 2017

“Being farmers, we are strong to do our farming and there is hope of having enough food on our tables since we are not a sick community. This is because of the rehabilitated well.”

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Timbito Well Rehabilitation Project.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Timbito Well Rehabilitation Project 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 for Timbito 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 with you.

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"I used to get sick frequently because of drinking dirty water. This kept me out of school and kept me in the dispensary for treatment. Now I don't get sick frequently because of this new pump that is put on our well,” said 10 year old Edwin Kutialo. It is news like this that excites us and WASH officer Paul Weringa who recently visited Timbito community.

4541 YAR 4

Paul reflected, “Before the well was rehabilitated, typhoid and diarrhea diseases was a thorn in the flesh of this community. Due to the contamination caused by the method of collecting water (bucket tied on the rope was lowered in the well) and the rainwater that flooded into the well, the community members spent money on hospital bills rendering them poor. Since the well was installed with an Afridev pump, the community enjoys drinking safe and clean water and therefore very minimal cases of diarrhea and typhoid occur. As a result of the rehabilitation, the community members are able to save their money to cater for other issues like paying school fees for their children and buying food for the family.”

4541 YAR 2

Community chairman Joshua Katamba Sakwa also sees the incredible change. "The whole community now relies on this water source. Everyone in the community is healthy since we no longer drink contaminated water. Being farmers, we are strong to do our farming and there is hope of having enough food on our tables since we are not a sick community. This is because of the rehabilitated well."

4541 YAR 3

We are thrilled to hear of these great steps forward; but challenges still exist for Timbito. Through our regular monitoring visits to this site, and through the reports of community members, we have learned that this well can experience a lower yield during during the long periods between Kenyan rainy seasons, sometimes lasting 2-4 months. Extreme, longer dry seasons are proving to be a challenge to all water points in this part of Kenya, and we are working out solutions with our teams.

Paul and the rest of his team are talking with Timbito about how this well can be further developed into a reliable source all year long. In addition, Timbito can benefit from other projects that we are monitoring in the area. The map below shows nearby springs that have been protected (green dots) or where projects are underway (grey dots; Timbito is the green dot right in the middle), some within 1km of this water point.

4541 YAR 5 map

Challenges like this are why we are so committed to monitoring all of the water sources we install. The work is far from done, but with the support of our monthly donors, we are learning more every day! 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 Timbito Well Rehabilitation Project 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 Timbito Well Rehabilitation Project – 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.


Contributors

Thirst Drinkware
Water For Life (Aidan and Andre - Singapore American School)
6th grade class of 2016 from West Tatnuck Elementary School, Worcester MA
PS33 - Noah Eischen and Jackson Montgomery Lemonade & Cookie Stand Proceeds
Coops For A Cause
The Hermosillo Family
The Pupils of the Lycee Francais of Vienna
Refuge Church www.refugealma.com
CrossCenter of First Reformed Church in Sheboygan Falls, WI
Win-Win Initiatives, Inc.
Swagger
Academy for Public Speaking
98 individual donor(s)