Project Status



Project Type:  Protected Spring

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 301 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Oct 2017

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 03/07/2024

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

Members of Ebung'ayo Community rely on farming as a way to meet their daily needs. A normal day begins with routine household chores for women, and men attending to their farms. If there isn't anything left to do on the farm, they look for any other means of earning income. Most of the homes here brew alcohol, resulting in a high rate of alcoholism, especially in men.

Water Situation

Wycliff Spring is one of the main sources of water for people living in Ebung'ayo.
The spring serves over 43 households. The water is used for domestic purposes such as drinking, cooking, washing, watering animals and irrigating farms during dry seasons. During these dry seasons the population using the spring increases greatly, for many other springs in the area dry up.

Ebung’ayo Village is already highly populated with a total number of 301 community members. During the dry seasons, the community is involved in conflicts since everyone wants to fetch water at the same times, and the more people who use it, the dirtier it gets. Some members who wish to embrace peace even when resources are scarce fetch water during the middle of the night.

Containers are immersed into the water at the spring, or a small cup is used to bail water into larger containers. Wycliff Spring is open to contamination from human and animal activity, and is particularly contaminated during and after the rains that wash waste straight into the water.

It was also reported that the community battles waterborne diseases like diarrhea and typhoid as a result of using contaminated water from Wycliff Spring. "As a community we have battled for so long with issues of health and sanitation which is majorly caused by the use of contaminated water. My family inclusive of me, have used massive resources to treat recurring diseases that are brought about by the same condition," Mr. Wycliff shared.

Sanitation Situation

Sanitation standards are low, because most of the families in the area lack proper latrines, bathing rooms, dish racks, and clotheslines. When asked about these things, it became clear that there's an overall lack of knowledge on hygiene and sanitation practices in Ebung'ayo.

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Community members will attend hygiene and sanitation training for at least three days. This training will ensure participants are no longer ignorant about healthy practices and their importance. The facilitator plans to use PHAST (Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation), CLTS (Community-Led Total Sanitation), ABCD (Asset-Based Community Development), group discussions, handouts, and demonstrations at the spring.

Training will also result in the formation of a committee that will oversee operations and maintenance at the spring. They will enforce proper behavior around the spring and delegate tasks that will help preserve the site, such as building a fence and digging proper drainage.

Plans: Sanitation Platforms

On the final day of training, participants will select five families that should benefit from new latrines.

Training will also inform the community and selected families on what they need to contribute to make this project a success. They must mobilize locally available materials, such as bricks, clean sand, hardcore, and ballast. The five families must prepare by sinking a pit for the sanitation platforms to be placed over. All community members must work together to make sure that accommodations and food are always provided for the work teams.

Plans: Spring Protection

Fetching water is predominantly a female role, done by both women and young girls. Protecting the spring and offering training and support will therefore help empower the female members of the community by giving them more time and efforts to engage and invest in income-generating activities.

In addition, protecting the spring will ensure that the water is safe, adequate and secure. Construction will keep surface runoff and other contaminants out of the water.

Project Updates


July, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Ebung'ayo Community, Wycliffe 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 Ebung'ayo, Kenya.

Community members show their COVID-19 informational pamphlets received at training

We trained more than 21 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.

Everyone practices the 10 steps of handwashing

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.

Team Leader Catherine washes her hands using the leaky tin with help from Trainer Jacky

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.

Helping a community member wash her hands

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.

Catherine turns the leaky tin into a hands-free tippy tap handwashing station

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.

Homemade mask sewing session

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.




October, 2018: A Year Later: Ebung'ayo Community, Wycliff Spring

A year ago, generous donors helped protect Wycliff Spring for Ebung'ayo Community in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories. Read more...




October, 2017: Ebung'ayo Community Project Complete

Wycliff Spring in Ebung'ayo Community, Kenya is now a protected, clean source of water thanks to your donation. The spring is protected from contamination, five sanitation platforms have been provided for the community, and training has been given in sanitation and hygiene. Imagine the changes that all of these resources are going to bring for these residents! You made it happen!  Now, want to do a bit more? Join our team of monthly donors and help us maintain this spring protection and many other projects.

We just updated the project page with the latest pictures, so make sure to check them out! And please enjoy the rest of the report from our partner in Kenya:

Project Result: New Knowledge

Community members had been so excited for training ever since they witnessed the transformation around Murambi Spring in a neighboring community. When Wycliff let them know about the training by their own spring, everyone was ready to make the time to attend.

6 kenya4728 construction

Community members offered to continue helping the artisan, even after their own work was done.

In fact, many of the training participants were on location early, since they were helping carry stones to fill the top of the spring box. Our artisan had already been working on backfilling the spring, and hadn't even asked for the extra help. This was so encouraging! This made for a great transition straight into caring for and protecting the spring protection system. There was a total of 31 people out of which 13 were children.

1 kenya4728 training

Learning about proper use and care of the spring.

Training topics included but were not limited to leadership and governance; operation and maintenance of the spring; healthcare; family planning; immunizations; the spread of disease and prevention. We also covered water treatment methods, environmental hygiene, and hygiene promotion. The community should refrain from washing clothes, watering animals, farming with fertilizers, and open defecation in the vicinity.

Group discussions were very effective in helping participants take responsibility for what they were learning. And since we were at the spring, we could easily show the group how to manage and maintain their new clean water point. We demonstrated the ten steps to properly washing hands and allowed everyone a chance to practice.

4 kenya4728 training

This community was so serious about the information they learned, that they invited our field officers to make random household visits whenever they wished. They said that they'd build the facilities they need and clean up their household compounds to create a healthy environment for their families.

Project Result: Sanitation Platforms

All five sanitation platforms have been installed and are ready for use. These five families are happy about this milestone and are optimistic that there will be much less open defecation. People without proper latrines would often use the privacy of bushes, but now have a private place of their own. It is expected that proper use of latrine facilities provided by the sanitation platforms will go a long way in reducing environmental pollution here. We are continuing to encourage families to finish building walls and roofs over their new latrine floors.

9 kenya4728 sanitation platform construction

Project Result: Spring Protection

Community members provided all locally available construction materials, e.g bricks, wheelbarrows of clean sand, wheelbarrows of ballast, fencing poles and hard core (crushed rock and gravel). Accommodation and food for the artisan were provided and a few people volunteered their services as laborers.

The spring area was excavated to create space for setting the foundation of polythene, wire mesh and concrete. After the base had been set, both wing walls and the head wall were set in place using brickwork. The discharge pipe was fixed low in place through the head wall to direct the water from the reservoir to the drawing area.

5 kenya4728 construction

As the wing walls and head wall were curing, the stairs were set and the tiles were fixed directly below the discharge pipe. This reduces the erosive force of the falling water and beautifies the spring. The process of plastering the head wall and wing walls on both sides reinforces the brickwork and prevents water from the reservoir from seeping through the walls and allows pressure to build in the collection box to push water up through the discharge pipe.  Lastly, the base of the spring was plastered and the collection box was cleaned. The source area was filled up with clean hardcore and covered with a polythene membrane to eliminate any potential sources of contamination. Finally, grass was planted and cutoff drains dug to direct surface water away from the spring box.

This process has transformed Wycliff Spring into a clean water source.

12 kenya4728 clean water

Mr. Wycliff Andala and several other community members gathered at the spring to celebrate their first sips of clean water. Wycliff said, "After every five years we get an opportunity to elect our leaders, the president. This year was not an exception, and we are still in the election process. But I am sure that there is not one leader among those whom we have elected that can do for us what you have done. We can now access clean water and the environment from which we get it is perfect. We shall do all it takes to ensure the spring is well-managed and maintained. I want to sincerely thank 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: Ebung'ayo Community, Wycliff Spring

October, 2018

“As a community, we have never experienced the good health and prosperous development as we experience now, since the protection of Wycliff Spring.” – Christabel Nasimiyu

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Ebung'ayo Community, Wycliffe Spring.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Ebung'ayo Community, Wycliffe 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 protect Wycliff Spring for Ebung'ayo Community in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – and we’re excited to share this one from Jacklyne Chelagat with you.


"We used to suffer a lot in terms of accessing clean and safe water, and would contract water and sanitation diseases and use massive resources to pay for medication," Christabel Nasimiyu said.

"As a community, we have never experienced the good health and prosperous development as we experience now, since the protection of Wycliff Spring."

Individuals in this community are fortunate to access clean and safe water. The previously reported cases of water and sanitation-related diseases have been curbed, and people are experiencing better health. Community members are grateful for the support in protecting the spring and the accompanying training that helped improve their hygiene and sanitation.

Christabel Nasimiyu and Mary Nekesa

Protection of the spring is only one step along the journey toward sustainable access to clean water. The Water Project is committed to consistent monitoring of each water source. Our monitoring and evaluation program, made possible by donors like you, allows us to maintain our relationships with communities by visiting up to 4 times each year to ensure that the water points are safe and reliable.

"Personally, I am grateful for you considering us and coming to our rescue before it was too late," Ms. Nasimiyu said.

This is just one of the many ways that we monitor projects and communicate with you. Additionally, you can always check the functionality status and our project map to see how all of our water points are performing, based on our consistent monitoring data.

One project is just a drop in the bucket towards ending the global water crisis, but the ripple effects of this project are truly astounding. This spring in Ebung'ayo Community is changing many lives.

"Before the protection of the spring, medical centers used to be my second home since I got ill so often," 8-year-old Mary Nekesa said.

Mary Nekesa

"The good health experienced by the protection of the spring has to a great extent improved my performance since I am now able to attend classes regularly."

This is only possible because of the web of support and trust built between The Water Project, our local teams, the community, and you. We are excited to stay in touch with this community and support their journey with safe water.

Read more about The Water Promise 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 Ebung'ayo Community, Wycliffe 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 Ebung'ayo Community, Wycliffe 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

Aliya, Aiyana, Ethan Hoffmann
ESC Renaissance - Defi de l Eau 2017
Mrs. Andersen's first grade class
56 individual donor(s)