Daniel Gains Time and Energy for School!

September, 2024

A year ago, your generous donation helped the Kasioni Community in Kenya access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Daniel. Thank you!

Your gift last year unlocked Daniel's potential for a brighter future. Since then, he and the 250-resident Kasioni Community have had reliable water. Your contribution has made a significant impact. Thank you for making a difference!

"I am able to drink clean water that does not expose me to water-related infections." - Daniel.

Before the Well Installation

Like many children in Southeast Kenya, 13-year-old Daniel is responsible for collecting water to meet his family's daily water needs. Before last year’s water intervention, this task stole his time and negatively affected him.

A community member collects water from a scoop hole, the primary water source before the well installation.

Drinking the water had severe consequences. Many in his community suffered from waterborne diseases that created health problems, affecting their daily lives. Limited accessibility also meant people wasted time collecting sufficient water to meet their needs. The difficult journey to collect water sapped their physical and emotional energy, creating roadblocks. For Daniel, in particular, it lessened his opportunity to focus on his studies.

"Getting water before the implementation of this project was very challenging. I had to help out my parents in fetching water, which consumed most of my free time, making it challenging to improve my studies," shared Daniel.

"Walking to the scoop holes and returning back home also caused a lot of physical pain, such as backaches, as well as leg pain. Even when using a donkey, loading the water was hard, and the donkey would get tired and lie on the ground, refusing to carry the jerry cans," he continued.

Since the Well Installation

Your generous gift last year was much more than a simple donation; it was a powerful statement about your commitment to this community and Daneil’s future. By supporting the water solution, you made clean water an everyday reality, fostering hope for a brighter future.

Reliable and clean water lays the groundwork for improved health, education, and economic possibilities, allowing people to thrive. We frequently hear from those we interview that "water is life!"

"I am now drinking clean water that does not expose me to infections like typhoid or dysentery," said Daniel.

"This project was built very close to my home, and fetching water only takes a few minutes. I use my time to study, herd our livestock, or help with household chores at home," he shared.

The Future is Looking Bright!

A year ago, you made a difference for Daniel and the rest of his community. This is just the first chapter of their story as access to clean water continues to improve their lives!

At The Water Project, we value sustainability and want to ensure that people continue to thrive. We commit to monitoring this project to ensure the water is always flowing and safe to consume. We inspect the system hardware, track water availability, conduct sanitary inspections, and collect water quality samples to identify risks. We work with our team on the ground to resolve them.

You gave Daniel a crucial tool for achieving his dreams: access to reliable water. Together, we can excitedly expect that with this precious resource, his enthusiasm and courage will help him fulfill his dreams.

"I have been performing better in class because I get time to do my homework and revise what was taught in class because I am no longer spending most of my time fetching water," he shared excitedly.

Daniel's community is also thriving.

"The community has a tree nursery, and they have kitchen gardens that they irrigate using water from the implemented project," said Daniel.

The community members with tree saplings.


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 Kasioni Community 4B 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 Kasioni Community 4B – 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.

Project Status



Project Type: Dug Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Southeastern Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 250 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jun 2023

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 08/19/2024

Project Features


Click icons to learn about each feature.



Sometimes, the only accomplishment the 250 people in Kasioni can manage in a day is collecting water.

Those who live farthest away travel up to eight kilometers (4.97 miles) to reach the nearest dry riverbed, where they scoop up what little water they can find. The journey can last hours, draining all the community members' energy—multiple people we interviewed reported leaving for water at around 6 a.m. and not returning until 1 p.m. The toll this journey takes on the 278 people who live here is constant.

"When I was in primary school, I missed school a lot," said 18-year-old Kaluki M (shown collecting water above). "I used to wake up at 4 a.m. to go to fetch water. This would make me fail to attend school, hence my performance kept on deteriorating. Getting water near us will be good [for] us as we shall no longer have to walk for very long distances and miss school. My health will improve so much, as well as the life expectancy of locals."

And it's not only the community members' productivity that suffers. The lack of proper crop irrigation has crippled their ability to feed their families and produce any income. They can't keep themselves, their homes, or their clothes clean. The salty water from the scoop holes doesn't allow food to cook properly. And the community members share these scoop holes with wildlife and domestic animals, who often defecate in or around the water as they drink.

“Households with travel times greater than 30 minutes have been shown to collect progressively less water. Limited water availability may also reduce the amount of water that is used for hygiene in the household.” - (The Relationship between Distance to Water Source and Moderate-to-Severe Diarrhea in the Global Enterics Multi-Center Study in Kenya, 2008–2011) - American Journal of Tropical Science and Medicine

"[The] water challenges in our community make me feel less [like a] human being," said 58-year-old farmer Malia Musyoka (pictured below). "Myself, I have underlying health problems. Actually, I just reported back home some few months ago from the hospital. I am alone at my home now. The duties in my home are demanding, and the most demanding is getting water. The roads are very dusty, and because I have asthma, anytime I walk to the river, I must come back sick."

The water crisis in Kasioni leaves people tired, hungry, sick, and poor, with no way out. A water source nearer to them will change that.

What We Can Do:

Reliable Water

Our main entry point into this community has been the Self-Help Group, which comprises households working together to address water and food scarcity in their region. These members will be our hands and feet in constructing water projects and spreading the message of good hygiene and sanitation to everyone.

Hand-Dug Well

This particular hand-dug well will be built adjacent to a sand dam project, which will supply clean drinking water once it rains. We have provided the group with the tools needed for excavation. With the guidance of our artisans and mechanics, the excavated well will be cased, sealed with a well pad, and then finished with a new AfriDev pump.

Excavation takes a month or more on average, depending on the nature of the rock beneath. Construction of the well lining and installation of the pump takes 12 days maximum. The well will be lined with a concrete wall including perforations so that once it rains, water will filter in from the sand dam.

This well will bring clean water closer to families.

New Knowledge

These community members currently do their best to practice good hygiene and sanitation, but their severe lack of water has significantly hindered reaching their fullest potential.

We will hold hygiene and sanitation training sessions with the Self-Help Group and other community members to teach essential hygiene practices and daily habits to establish at the personal, household, and community levels. This training will help to ensure that participants have the knowledge they need to make the most out of their new water point as soon as the water is flowing.

One of the most important topics we plan to cover is handling, storage, and water treatment. Having a clean water source will be extremely helpful, but it is useless if water gets contaminated when it is consumed. We will also emphasize the importance of handwashing.

The community and we firmly believe that all of these components will work together to improve living standards here, which will help to unlock the potential for these community members to live better, healthier lives.

We typically work with self-help groups for 3 to 5 years on multiple water projects. We will conduct follow-up visits and refresher training during this period and remain in contact with the group after all of the projects are completed to support their efforts to improve sanitation and hygiene.

Project Updates


June, 2023: Kasioni Community Hand-Dug Well Complete!

Kasioni Community, Kenya, now has a new water source, thanks to your donation! We constructed a new hand-dug well adjacent to a new sand dam on the riverbed. The sand dam will build up sand to raise the water table and naturally filter water, while the well will provide a safer method of drawing drinking water for the community.

Excited for clean water.

It could take up to three years of rain for this sand dam to reach maximum capacity because sometimes it only rains once a year in this region! As the sand dam matures and stores more sand, the surrounding landscape will become lush and fertile, and the well will fill with water.

"I would feel very frustrated when [I'm] taking my cattle and goats to drink water from the distant scoop hole because of the long journey under the burning sun. Now my animals will easily drink water from this [water] point. Their health will also improve and offer better yields. I will also be able to drink water whenever I want because this water point is close to my home and offers sufficient water, unlike before when I had to bear with the thirst and opt for the same water that my livestock drank," farmer Jones Muthwii shared.

Jones Muthwii.

"Having clean water means me and my family will no longer be exposed to infections like typhoid and amoebas which were very rampant in the past. My children will no longer be absent from school due to these sickness[es] which will ensure they get better grades in school and achieve their dreams. I am happy that I will be wearing clean clothes and be able to conduct personal hygiene because this water point will offer enough clean water," he continued.

Hand-Dug Well Construction Process

Construction for this well was a success!

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. When all the materials were ready, it was time to dig in!

First, we excavated a hole seven feet in diameter up to the recommended depth of 25 feet. (Most hand-dug wells do not reach that depth due to hard rocks between 10-18 feet.) As planned, the diameter shrank to 5 feet when the well lining was complete. This lining is made of brick and mortar with perforations to allow water to seep through. When the well is finished, sand builds up around its walls, which will filter the rainwater stored behind the dam.

Beginning of the well.

Once the lining reached ground level, we laid a precast concrete slab on top of the lining and joined it to the wall using mortar. The concrete dried for two weeks before installation. We fixed four bolts onto the slab during casting in preparation for the hand pump's installation.

Next, the mechanics arrived to install the pump as community members watched, learning how to manage simple maintenance tasks. We installed the pump 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 use concrete steps to get their water. After installing the pump, we gave the well another few days to let the joints dry.

We worked with the Itinda Self-Help Group for this project. The members and their families contributed tremendous amounts of materials and physical labor.

New Knowledge

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

The training was held at the New Apostolic Church. There were 30 total participants who attended the PHAST training which was led by Judith Kanini. The group's chairperson helped mobilize the community.

Training underway.

We trained the group on various skills, including bookkeeping, financial management, project management, group dynamics, and governance. We also conducted hygiene and sanitation training to teach skills like soap- and detergent-making and improve behaviors such as handwashing.

Hand-washing training.

We also touched on health problems in the community, good and bad hygiene behaviors, the spread and prevention of disease, and sanitation improvements. And we covered natural resource management and the operations and maintenance of the sand dam.

One of the most memorable training topics was brought up by community members. The attendees had different concerns about expressing their health complaints or questions to a doctor or a health practitioner. The trainer, Judith, explained, "Show your doctor the exact location in or on which you are experiencing your symptoms. You want to be as specific as possible." She went on the explain how to discuss concerns with a healthcare professional.

Health training.

Other favorite topics were soap-making and the sanitation of latrines. The participants were shown how easy and important it is to make soap for handwashing and sanitation. Members enjoyed the session! They plan to develop soap-making skills to hopefully be able to sell the soap at the market and help with local school sanitation.

Latrine sanitation training.

Conclusion

This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members. When an issue arises concerning the well, 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 their local field officers to assist them.

Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. We walk with each community, problem-solving together when they face challenges with functionality, seasonality, or water quality. Together, all these components help us strive for enduring access to reliable, clean, and safe water for this community.

With your contribution, one more piece has been added to a large puzzle of water projects. In Kenya, Uganda, and Sierra Leone, we’re working toward complete coverage. That means reliable, maintained water sources within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. With this in mind, search through our upcoming projects to see which community you can help next!

Thank you for making all of this possible!




May, 2023: Kasioni Community Well Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Kasioni Community drains people’s time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

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




Project Photos



Contributors

Project Sponsor - Lifeplus Foundation
2 individual donor(s)