Project Status



Project Type:  Protected Spring

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 315 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jan 2017

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 09/06/2024

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

Elande Village is located in Murrumba sub-location, East Butsotso location, Lurambi Ward of Lurambi Constituency within Kakamega County.

There are 45 households living in Elande Village, totaling 315 people of which 158 are women and 157 are men. Some of the more prominent economic activities in this community include subsistence farming, cash crop farming of maize, and brick-making. Many farmers participate in a unique activity to earn a living: they rear cattle for bullfighting, which is done in the nearby Luhya Community.

Water Situation

Community members say that Elande Spring has been consistently flowing since 1989. Community members use the spring's water for household chores, watering, and drinking.

Since the spring has been around for such a long time, people have come to trust it. They trust that the water is absolutely safe for direct drinking without any form of treatment such as boiling. They have failed to consider that the water quality of Elande Spring has changed over the years, due to factors such as climate change and population growth which usually affect the quality of water. However, there are people within the community who voiced their concerns, complaining of waterborne and water-related diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, and cholera. They admit that they spend a great deal of their income treating these complications, especially for children and the elderly. Other sicknesses mentioned include coughs, malaria, and skin disease.

This spring is at the bottom of a slope and is open to contamination from many different sources. When it rains, animal feces are washed into the water. The more people that fetch water by dunking their containers in the spring, the dirtier the water gets. Water is carried back and forth in jerrycans from five to 20 liters, depending on what a woman or child can carry. Small gourds are dipped in the water to fill the larger jerrycans, and once home, it is stored in larger 100-liter plastic barrels.

Sanitation Situation

This community is a somewhat unique case because it already has some good sanitation and hygiene practices in place. There are helpful structures in the community such as: a segregated washing area that all community members use, clotheslines, and composting pits. The compost is used as fertilizer when they plant their crops.

Although this community might strike one as well organized, other important sanitation structures such as pit latrines, dish racks, and hand-washing stations are not available in most households. Under half of households have a pit latrine, and open defication was an evident issue. Most people know about hand-washing, but don't take it seriously enough to make it a habit.

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.

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 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

Elande Spring has been around for more than 25 years, which proves to us that the spring will be a great, reliable source to protect. Will will take this reliable source and make it safe, too. Construction will include backfilling the spring up to a catchment area, a discharge pipe, stairs, and drainage, which will all ensure that the water is protected and constantly flowing. Community members have agreed to help gather local materials needed for construction such as sand, ballast, hardcore, bricks, fencing poles, and even some helpful hands!

"This is an answered prayer to us as a community, which will help us stop being affected with waterborne disease such as  typhoid, cholera and malaria due to stagnant water," said local businessman Thomas Shikuku.

Project Updates


June, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Elande 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.

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 Elande, 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, along with a sign with reminders of what we covered.

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.

>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.

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: Elande Village

A year ago, generous donors helped build a spring protection and sanitation platforms with the community of Elande Village 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, Joan Were, 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!


A Year Later: Elande Village

November, 2017

Since the spring was protected, the rate of water borne diseases has reduced. Our women now spend very little time at the spring because they used to wait for water to clear up after every scoop.

Keeping The Water Promise

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

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Elande 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 build a spring protection and sanitation platforms with the community of Elande Village 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, Joan Were, with you.

It was great to see both adults and children practicing the ten steps of hand washing after visiting the toilet and before meals. This change can be attributed to the WaSH training that was conducted in the community last year when the spring was protected.

Farmer Shikuku Thomas shared, “Before the spring was protected, it used to grow algae every two weeks. Consumption of that water led to many cases of fever, typhoid and diarrhea. The unprotected spring was also exposed to frogs and snakes which would scare people from fetching water. Since the spring was protected, the rate of water borne diseases has reduced. Our women now spend very little time at the spring because they used to wait for water to clear up after every scoop. We are very happy with our protected spring. The only challenge is keeping watch of naughty children who sneak to the spring to do their laundry.”

“Now, with the water coming through a pipe, we are sure that we are consuming clean water,” 13-year-old Jevis Shikuku added.

We will urge the Community Health Volunteers to keep on making home visits and encourage the homesteads with cows to collect the cow dung in a pit, cover it with dry grass and use it as manure. We will urge the Community Health Volunteers to keep on making home visits and encourage the homesteads to practice good hygiene.

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 Elande 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 Elande 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.


Contributors

Northeast Elementary School
Saint Louis Abbey
Princeton Presbyterian Church
1 individual donor(s)