Project Status



Project Type:  Protected Spring

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 302 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Nov 2016

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 09/11/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is a part of our shared program with Western Water and Sanitation Forum (WEWASAFO). Our team is pleased to directly share the below report (edited for clarity, as needed).

Welcome to the Community

Mang'ang'a Spring is found in Mang'ang'a Village of Kidundu, Central Maragoli of Vihiga County. It is near the town of Marengo and is next to the Kakamega-Kisumu Highway. Mr. Nahason Lugalia is the owner of the land the spring flows through, and he generously allows his entire community to use its water.

The people here either work on their farm or at the market to earn enough money for food.

Water Situation

This spring quenches the thirst of both children from Nalea Education Center (a community school started to meet education demands of children born out of wedlock as a result of prostitution at Majengo Town) and the other adult community members.

The spring was named after Mang'ang'a Village because of the people's love their home.

The spring supplies water to over 35 households in Mang'ang'a and the 57 children who attend Nalea Education Center (30 girls and 27 boys). During the dry seasons, people from Majengo Town also resort to Mang'ang'a Spring because it flows no matter what the circumstances.

Mang'ang'a Spring is an open water point to all forms of contamination including but not limited to human contamination, surface runoff, animals, and agricultural activities. The community draws the water by dipping their containers in a pool they dug which helps make collection easier. Some members were spotted doing laundry at the spring and some aired out their clothes in the vicinity. "Once the spring is protected," said 68-year-old Joyce Muguza, "we will ensure it is fenced and that we enforce rules prohibiting anyone from washing at the spring. We cannot afford to contaminate the spring any longer."

Sanitation Situation

The majority of the homes in this village do not have sanitation facilities of their own. "Personally I lack a latrine," said Joyce, "I cross to my neighbor even in the night whenever I want to go for longs calls. I will be so grateful if I get one of the latrine slabs!" The families who have latrines of their own fear using them because a local woman fell in her latrine pit and died on the spot.

Community member Nicholas Lugalia said, "Most of the residents around this place lack adequate knowledge about use of mosquito nets and its relationship to malaria prevention. Messages on waterborne diseases and their control should be emphasized to help the community in disease prevention." Malaria is one of the more common diseases that the community battles, apart from sexuality transmitted infections. The community suffers from the negative consequences of prostitution promoted by commercial sex workers from Majengo Town.

Though there are a lot of areas that need improvement, the community is very excited about the prospect of hygiene and sanitation training. We expect there to be a good turnout of people who want to learn about tools and practices that can help them lead healthier lives.

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Community members will be trained for two days on a variety of health, hygiene and sanitation topics. This training will result in community members donning the roles of health workers and water user committee members. The training facilitator plans to use PHAST (Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Training), CLTS (Community-Led Total Sanitation), and ABCD (Asset-Based Community Development) methods to teach community members, especially the women and children who feel the burden of household responsibility. Training will equip each person with the knowledge needed to practice viable and effective health solutions in their homes and at the spring. It will also result in the formation of a committee that will oversee and maintain their new spring protection system. They will take up activities such as digging extra drainage and fencing out wild animals. Other training participants will take up the gauntlet of health promotion; they will be community health workers responsible for teaching others about the good hygiene and sanitation practices they learned during training.

During training, we will take this community on a transect walk to sensitize them to some of the more serious health threats. The transect walk will teach locals to watch for practices that go on and facilities that are present related to good health and hygiene. Sometimes, a participant feels shame when the group arrives at their household and points out things that are unhealthy or unhygienic; but in Kenya, this affects people to make a positive change. Training participants will also vote on and decide the families that should benefit from the five new sanitation platforms.

Plans: Sanitation Platforms

The five families (most likely Mama Joyce Muguza's family will be one) chosen by the community will receive a sanitation platform, which is a concrete floor that makes a great foundation for a safe and clean latrine. These families will prepare by sinking a pit that the concrete slab can be placed over. These five new latrines will go a long way in reducing the level of open defecation in this community!

Plans: Spring Protection

Locals are eagerly preparing for this spring protection project. They have agreed to gather the local materials needed for construction to begin, which include sand, ballast, hardcore, bricks, fencing poles, and even a few helpful hands.

Project Updates


July, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Mang'ang'a Community, Mang'ang'a Spring

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.

Reviewing the prevention reminders chart

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 Mang'ang'a, Kenya.

Handwashing session

We trained more than 20 people 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.

Handwashing using the new tippy tap set up during training

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.

Following along with the 10 steps of handwashing

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.

Facilitators cut cloth to make a face mask

During training, we installed a new handwashing station with soap near the community’s water point, along with a sign with reminders of what we covered.

Face mask tutorial

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.

Facilitators wash their hands and sew a face mask

"Thank you for this training. Now we will make our own face masks and save money that would have been used to buy the face masks at Majengo market," said training participant and spring landowner Nicholas Mang'ang'a. After completing training, the village elder also requested participants to remember to improvise handwashing stations and ensure that they are installed in every home as a way of promoting handwashing.

Child Elvis receives face mask sewn at training

We continue to stay in touch with this community as the pandemic progresses. We want to ensure their water point remains functional and their community stays informed about the virus.

A group of training participants pose with their COVID-19 informational pamphlets after training

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.




December, 2017: A Year Later: Mang'ang'a Spring

A year ago, generous donors helped build a spring protection and sanitation platforms with the community near Mang’ang’a Spring in Western Kenya. Because of these gifts and contributions from our monthly donors, partners can 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 our partner, Samuel Simidi, with you.




Project Photos


Project Type

Springs are water sources that come from deep underground, where the water is filtered through natural layers until it is clean enough to drink. Once the water pushes through the surface of the Earth, however, outside elements like waste and runoff can contaminate the water quickly. We protect spring sources from contamination with a simple waterproof cement structure surrounding layers of clay, stone, and soil. This construction channels the spring’s water through a discharge pipe, making water collection easier, faster, and cleaner. Each spring protection also includes a chlorine dispenser at the waterpoint so community members can be assured that the water they are drinking is entirely safe. Learn more here!


"This spring is a symbol of unity, strength and oneness for the villagers who always come to quench their thirst from here."

Aggrey Orumbe

A Year Later: Mang'ang'a Spring

November, 2017

Since the spring was protected, the community members have not witnessed any member being sick because of taking spring water. Time wasted is now a thing of the past as villagers are now able to draw water efficiently and safely.

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Mang'ang'a Community, Mang'ang'a Spring.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Mang'ang'a Community, Mang'ang'a Spring 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 build a spring protection and sanitation platforms with the community near Mang'ang'a Spring in Western Kenya. Because of these gifts and contributions from our monthly donors, partners can 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 our partner, Samuel Simidi, with you.

The spring has been well maintained and in good working condition. The environment is clean -  an indicator that the villagers are observers of good hygiene and sanitation except for a few members who are still struggling.  Since the spring was protected, the community members have not witnessed any member being sick because of taking spring water. Time wasted is now a thing of the past as villagers are now able to draw water efficiently and safely.

Community member Antony Mugasani is eager to share all the positive changes since the water project was installed. “1: community members have been able to save on time while at the spring. 2: our members have been able to observe proper sanitation and hygiene compared to those days when hygiene was never taken seriously. We do have some of our members who do not have toilets or a basic facility. We are encouraging them to try and build one.

“I have been able to observe personal cleanliness,” boasts 14-year-old Ziporah Buguza. “There have been many positive impacts like my performance has improved. This is because I have been able to devote much time in my studies and also I learned more information on hygiene and sanitation training.”

The staff will continue doing monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the project is in good condition and serving the community as expected. We will plan more WaSH training to help this community with hygiene and sanitation as well.

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 4 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 Mang'ang'a Community, Mang'ang'a Spring 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 Mang'ang'a Community, Mang'ang'a Spring – 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

Paul and Caryn Koenig