February, 2021: Yumbani Community Well Complete!

Yumbani Community, Kenya, now has a new source of water thanks to your donation. A hand-dug well was constructed adjacent to a sand dam (go here to check it out). The dam was constructed on the riverbed, which will build up sand to raise the water table and naturally filter water. Recent rains have helped the dam begin to build up sand and store water.

It could take up to three years of rain (because sometimes it only rains once a year!) for this sand dam to reach maximum capacity. As the sand dam matures and stores more sand, a water supply will be available for drinking from the well. With this water, the surrounding landscape will become lush and fertile.

"Access to reliable, safe water from this water point will be impactful in my life as I will not have to walk for very long distances to fetch water. Water is readily available for drinking, cooking, and farming activities. My life will be a lot easier thanks to this water project," said Sylvester Nzangu.

"I plan to utilize the water from this project for farming activities. I will farm intensely because the water is adjacent to my farm. We have been facing great challenges concerning farming and irrigation projects due to inadequate water within the region. Now that the water is available in plenty, I will utilize the water to farm vegetables for sale and domestic use."

Hand-Dug Well

Construction for this well was a success!

We worked with the Nduti Self-Help Group for this project. The members and their families contributed materials and physical labor to complete the project. Also, they were trained on various skills such as bookkeeping, financial management, project management, group dynamics, and governance. We also conducted hygiene and sanitation training to teach skills like soapmaking and improve behaviors such as handwashing.

When an issue arises concerning the water project, the group members are equipped with the necessary skills to rectify the problem and ensure it works appropriately. However, if the issue is beyond their capabilities, they can contact our field officers' team to assist them.

"Access to reliable, safe water is a huge relief in my life. I will no longer have to walk long distances to fetch water as the water source is adjacent to my home. Using the shallow well to draw water is very easy, and I will spend less than five minutes fetching water at the well. This is very beneficial to me as I will have enough time to engage in other developmental and income generating activities," said Florence Munyau.

"I plan to establish a vegetable garden where I can plant vegetables such as kale, spinach, onions, and tomatoes both for domestic and agribusiness activities. Having water nearby will also enable me to engage in agroforestry projects and fruit tree planting, which are beneficial in conserving the environment."

Hand-Dug Well Construction Process

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

A hole 7 feet in diameter is excavated up to a recommended depth of 25 feet. For this well, our team hit bedrock at about 10 feet. Because of the relatively high bedrock, we installed an infiltration gallery of pipes into the area behind the dam so that water will more easily reach the well.

Working on the infiltration pipes.

The diameter 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. Sand builds up around the well walls, which will naturally filter the rainwater stored behind the dam.

Once the lining construction reaches ground level, 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 for two weeks before the pump is installed.

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 dry the joints completely. The pump was installed level with the top of the sand dam. As the dam matures, sand will build-up to the top of the wall. Until then, people will climb the concrete steps to get their water.

New Knowledge

The field officer in charge of the Matiliku region, Jeff Maluki, met with the group members while constructing their project and informed them about the planned WASH training. The members later agreed on a date and a central venue for the training. The local government authorities, such as the assistant chief of the area, were informed about the training, too.

The venue for this training was at Titus Maweu's homestead. Titus is a member of this group, and his homestead was a central venue to the majority of the participants. His homestead is situated 400 meters away from their second sand dam project. The weather was sunny, but the homestead had trees that provided shade for all the participants. The environment was quiet and was, therefore, conducive for learning.

The attendance was excellent and as expected. Among the participants were several leaders, including a village manager, a policy leader, and a church leader. The remainder of the audience included ten men and sixteen women whose ages ranged from eighteen to ninety years old.

The trainer conferred with the field staff about their previous visits to households and interviews with community members to determine which topics the community could improve upon.

They decided to train on topics including health problems in the community; good and bad hygiene behaviors; how diseases spread and their prevention; choosing sanitation improvements; choosing improved hygiene behaviors; planning for behavioral change; handwashing; and soapmaking.

"The training was very educative and valuable. I learned quite a lot from this training, and I intend to share the information gathered with my friends and family members. We were taught on soap-making practices which will come in handy in the implementation of proper hygiene and sanitation practices at our homes, especially during this pandemic of COVID-19," said Stephen Mwanzia.

"The training was very informative, and we have increased our knowledge on hygiene and sanitation as well as on COVID-19. This training will help us protect ourselves from coronavirus infection and improve our hygiene and sanitation at home and in our community. The liquid soap will enable us to practice proper handwashing as well as help the group generate some income from the sale of the soap and the disinfectants which we have learned today," added Eluid Kyungu.

Thank you for making all of this possible!

January, 2021: Yumbani Community hand-dug well underway!

Community members in Yumbani do not have a reliable source for water. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point in the community and much more.

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