Project Status



Project Type:  Dug Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Southeastern Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 3,000 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Dec 2023

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 03/18/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

The list of problems caused by the water crisis for the 3,000 people in Tondora is seemingly endless.

The closest water source for most of Tondora's people is a river that is four kilometers (2.48 miles) away. When the river dries up, as it does for most of the year in this semi-arid region, people must dig down to reach the brown, salty water beneath the surface of the riverbed. The journey to and from the water source eats up valuable time and energy every single day.

"Most residents spend more than half a day walking to and from the water point (one trip), making it time-consuming and exhausting," said our field officer, Alex. "The scoop holes are located about four kilometers away and cannot satisfy the entire population, which has led to overcrowding at the water point."

"Each morning, I have to carry water to school for drinking and cooking," said eight-year-old Patrick S. (shown above walking across the dry riverbed to a scoop hole). "I get very exhausted from the journey and cannot properly concentrate in class. Yesterday, I was late to school because the weight of the jerrycan slowed me down."

If people can afford donkeys, they load jerrycans onto their backs to fetch more water than they could carry on their own backs. But this also means that the entire riverbed is dotted with donkey excrement, seeping through the layers of earth to contaminate the water. It isn't surprising, therefore, that this disgusting water infects people with all sorts of diseases.

"Fetching water in the morning is energy-draining, and I get too exhausted to properly care for my goats or prepare my land in case the rain comes," said 55-year-old farmer Syombua Muthui (shown above and below).

"Conducting personal or household hygiene and sanitation is difficult because I have to use water sparingly," Syombua continued. "I have often contracted typhoid and amoeba, which are expensive to treat, considering my meager income. There is also insufficient water to irrigate any of my crops or vegetables, forcing us to settle for one meal per day."

As Syombua said, the little water Tondora's people are able to collect has to be prioritized and rationed. But this means things like washing dishes, laundering clothes, and cleaning latrines aren't done very often, exacerbating everyone's health issues even further.

'Water-washed' water contamination decreases with increased quantities of water. Ailments like 'infections of the intestinal tract, skin or eye infections, and infections caused by lice or mites' go away once households have better access to water. (Water, Engineering, and Development Centre -  Loughborough University, United Kingdom)

The people of Tondora need a closer water source to alleviate their suffering and help them achieve their goals.

Note: Our proposed water point can only serve 300 people per day. We are working with the community to identify other water solutions that will ensure all 3,000 people in the community have access to safe and reliable drinking water.

What We Can Do:

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


December, 2023: Tondora Community Shallow Well Complete!

The Tondora 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.

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.

66-year-old farmer Stephen Makura shared, "I am very happy about this project because it will address the frustrations I had when fetching water. I will no longer be spending most of my time fetching water and use it in conducting activities like preparing my land, interacting with other members of the community, and even finding better ways to improve my livelihood. My children will now be drinking clean water from the shallow well and not exposed to stomach aches caused by amoeba or typhoid; thus, I will not be spending money on medications."

"Hygiene and sanitation at home will now improve because we will have enough water for cleaning. I am planning on planting trees on my farm, and this waterpoint will avail the water for irrigation. These trees will include fruit trees like lemon, mango, and more that will not only supplement my family's daily diet but also earn me an income because I will be selling them," 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.

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 Tondora Umoja 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 their previous household visits and interviews with community members to determine which topics the community could improve upon.

"This training will be helpful in preventing and controlling diseases through hygiene practices and the construction of sanitation infrastructure. We have also learned about water treatment, which is crucial because most of the water sources in our area are contaminated. We will also be selling soap and earn an income as a group because we have learned how to make it. We will use the acquired income to purchase chickens and thus foster food security," shared Stephen.

Chairperson of the Water User Committee, Stephen.

Veronica Matolo led the training at one of the self-help group members' homes on the agreed-upon date. There was good attendance and lively conversation surrounding many of the topics covered. One of the most memorable topics was "three pile sorting." Veronica explained, "Three-pile sorting is a tool under problem analysis. It is meant to analyze community behaviors. It involves sorting posters into three different piles of different activities happening in the posters: good, in-between, and bad hygiene and sanitation behavior practices. During the training, a donkey started braying behind one of the members, and everyone stood up in surprise. This made the topic memorable."

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.

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

Conclusion

This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members. When an issue arises concerning the sand dam, 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!




August, 2023: Tondora Community Hand-Dug Well Project Underway!

The lack of adequate water in Tondora Community costs people time, energy, and health every single day. Clean water scarcity contributes to community instability and diminishes individuals’ personal progress.

But thanks to your recent generosity, things will soon improve here. We are now working to install a reliable water point and improve hygiene standards. We look forward to sharing inspiring news in the near future!




Project Photos


Project Type

Hand-dug wells have been an important source of water throughout human history! Now, we have so many different types of water sources, but hand-dug wells still have their place. Hand dug wells are not as deep as borehole wells, and work best in areas where there is a ready supply of water just under the surface of the ground, such as next to a mature sand dam. Our artisans dig down through the layers of the ground and then line the hole with bricks, stone, or concrete, which prevent contamination and collapse. Then, back up at surface level, we install a well platform and a hand pump so people can draw up the water easily.


Contributors

Project Sponsor - Barbara Belle Ash Dougan Foundation