Ilandi Community A

04/23/2019: Ilandi Community Well Construction Complete

Ilandi Community, Kenya now has a new water source thanks to your donation. A hand-dug well was constructed adjacent to a sand dam. Community members also attended hygiene and sanitation training, and plan to share what they learned with their families and neighbors.

The community is eagerly waiting for the next rainy season. They understand that this sand dam and hand-dug well system is a long-term solution that will transform their semi-arid region over the next couple of years. Once it rains, that process will begin! The dam will build up sand that stores and naturally filters water available at the hand-dug well. We look forward to reaching out again as soon as we have news of flowing water!

New Knowledge

Hygiene and sanitation training was planned and organized by the Mumbuni Area Field Officer, Paul Musau, who communicated with the community members and settled on a date when Instructor Christine Lucas could conduct sessions. The members decided to meet at their sand dam construction site for the training. The reason for choosing the site as the venue was that they wanted to continue with construction as soon as the training hours were over. The training would begin at exactly 9:30am and end at 4pm so the members could use the remaining hours of the day to work.

Training started with a word of prayer from a group member followed by introductions with names, position in the group, and expectations for the training. Instructor Lucas used various methodologies to ensure each person’s understanding. She used group discussions, demonstrations, drama/role plays, brainstorming sessions, and question and answer summaries.

The group worked together to learn more about:

– health problems they face
– differences between good and bad hygiene
– how germs spread and how to build barriers
– planning for change
– handwashing
– soapmaking

The participants’ favorite activities were on problem analysis and handwashing. The members met together in a group and discussed illustrations of daily habits, discussing what was being done and how it might impact health.

Different people had different opinions on the illustrated activities, but by the end of the discussion, they were of common agreement. There was laughter during this activity, but most importantly, the women have agreed about best practices for carrying out their daily chores.

The handwashing demonstration began by constructing a tippy tap with local materials like a jerrycan and sticks. Once they learned this simple process, all the members resolved to construct a similar tippy tap in their own homesteads. One woman climbed a very tall tree to cut the forked sticks used to hold up the jerrycan.

A woman demonstrates what she learned about handwashing

The other women were very happy to see her climb a very tall tree to cut these sticks down. This activity will always be remembered by the women because climbing tall trees is an act associated with men. The climber shared her experience as she was climbing the tree to the rest, and they all shared laughter and excitement.

“The training was very good that’s why I attended all the sessions. I have learned a new method of water treatment and from today, I will no longer drink untreated water. I have also learned how to construct a tippy tap and learned the importance of having one. I also learned about diseases and how I can prevent them,” shared Mrs. Lenah Syupata.

“I have also been trained on soapmaking today. I will use the soap to wash utensils, latrines, and my house.”

Hand-Dug Well

“We are happy to have completed this dam and shallow well project! It was not an easy job for us as women but through hard work and commitment, we have made what looked impossible a possibility,” Mrs. Syupata said with pride.

“As a community group, we are slowly moving towards achieving our objectives of increased water availability through implementation of community water projects.”

The Process:

We delivered the experts and materials, but the community helped get an extraordinary amount of work done. They collected local materials to supplement the project, including sand and water.

A seven feet in diameter hole is excavated up to a recommended depth of 25 feet. (Most hand-dug wells don’t reach that depth due to the existence of hard rocks between 10-18 ft.). The diameter then shrinks to five feet when construction of the hand-dug well lining is completed. This lining is made of brick and mortar with perforations to allow for water to seep through.

Progress on the well lining

Once the construction of the lining is level with the top of the sand dam, a precast concrete slab is laid on top and joined to the wall using mortar. Four bolts for the hand-pump are fixed on the slab during casting. The concrete needs to dry over the course of two weeks before the pump is installed.

The well structure awaiting pump installation and plastering

The mechanics arrive to install the pump as community members watch, learning how to manage simple maintenance tasks for themselves.

The well is then given another few days after installing the pump to allow the joints to completely dry.

The pump was installed level with the top of the sand dam because as the dam matures, sand will amass until it reaches the top of the platform. Once it rains, this sand behind the dam wall will store the water to be accessed through this hand-dug well. We look forward to reaching out again when we have news of water here!

Thank You for making all of this possible.

03/05/2019: A Water Well in Ilandi Community

Your generosity provides the means for families living in Ilandi to have water nearby. They live in a semi-arid, sandy region where water is hard to come by – so people heavily rely on the water wells and sand dams they are able to build with us.

Digging a well alongside a sand dam will provide drinking water access for hundreds of people as the dam matures and stores water. This community is also benefitting from training sessions that review healthy habits as well as introduce new ones.

Get to know this community through the introduction and pictures we’ve posted, and learn more about this water, sanitation, and hygiene project. We look forward to reaching out again soon with news of success!