Ikuyuni Community 1B

Project Status

Project Type: Protected Dug Well

Regional Program: Southeastern Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 300 Served

Project Phase: In Service - May 2025

Functionality Status: Functional

Project Features

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The 1000 people in the Ikuyuni Community struggle to access sufficient water because they have no reliable water source nearby. Their primary water source is scoop holes of water that collect in a river bed, but community members must walk several kilometers over rocky, hilly terrain to reach them. It is an exhausting chore that consumes their time and energy and, in the end, provides them with very little water.

The water they can collect is used to fulfill their top priorities of drinking and cooking, which means other important things like proper hygiene and sanitation and farming get delayed or neglected altogether.

Sadly, since the scoop holes are not protected, the water community members work so hard to collect is often contaminated. Community members report that consuming the water causes them to suffer from frequent stomach aches and water-related infections that are expensive to treat, especially with limited incomes.

"One of my children recently had a stomach ache, and I had to take her to the dispensary. The dispensary is mostly overcrowded because they are understaffed, and my daughter was diagnosed with amoeba. I went to the nearby drugstore and got the drugs on credit because I did not have money at that time. We seek treatment from the drug store because the government-sponsored dispensary usually does not have drugs. Getting money to purchase medicine is challenging because I mostly depend on farming, which is negatively affected by poor precipitation and long periods of drought. This often happens because we mostly rely on the water from the scoop hole, which is contaminated," said 34-year-old farmer Jennifer Lingwa, shown carrying water below.

"Water is really important to use because, without it, we have to walk several kilometers in search of water. It is also impossible to get water for irrigation during the several periods of poor precipitation, which means we can not plant any crops and get income to pay bills like school fees and purchase household goods," Jennifer continued.

"I spend most of my time and energy drawing water from the scoop hole. Therefore, I am left with little time to study or do my homework. Fetching water is the main order of the day in our area. I feel so sad when I am sent to fetch water, especially after classes or during holidays, because the current water sources are far away, and I usually walk from school. I get so exhausted and unable to play soccer with my friends," said 15-year-old Solo, seen above collecting water.

"Solo really likes football and wants to be a football star in [the] future. It is a pity that he barely gets enough time to play with his friends. His parents are also adversely affected by drought and cannot raise fees for him to be in school because of the poor farm yields. I hope that the proposed project will avail enough water close to his home and improve their levels of income through farming," said our Field Officer Alex Cheruiyot.

We are grateful for Ikuyuni's community member's initiative. They approached one of our field officers while they were visiting another water project in the area, asking for help to bring clean water to their community, and after assessment, it was decided that their request should be granted.

"The community is seeking to ensure that the region has enough water because it will help them tackle water-related problems like poor farm yields, poor hygiene, and low incomes," shared Field Officer Alex Cheruiyot.

Helping to solve the water crisis in this community will take a multi-faceted system. It requires the collaboration of the sand dam and a hand-dug well. They will work together to create a sustainable water source that will serve this community for years to come.

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

The Proposed Solution, Determined Together...

At The Water Project, everyone has a part in conversations and solutions. We operate in transparency, believing it benefits everyone. We expect reliability from one another as well as our water solutions. Everyone involved makes this possible through hard work and dedication.

In a joint discovery process, community members determine their most advantageous water solution alongside our technical experts. Read more specifics about this solution on the What We're Building tab of this project page. Then, community members lend their support by collecting needed construction materials (sometimes for months ahead of time!), providing labor alongside our artisans, sheltering and feeding the builders, and supplying additional resources.

Water Access for Everyone

This water project is one piece in a large puzzle. In Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, we're working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources that guarantee public access now and in the future within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. One day, we hope to report that this has been achieved!

Training on Health, Hygiene & More

With the community's input, we've identified topics where training will increase positive health outcomes at personal, household, and community levels. We'll coordinate with them to find the best training date. Some examples of what we train communities on are:

Improved hygiene, health, and sanitation habits
Safe water handling, storage & treatment
Disease prevention and proper handwashing
Income-generation
Community leadership, governance, & election of a water committee
Operation and maintenance of the water point

Project Updates

May, 2025: Ikuyuni Community Well Complete!

The Ikuyuni Community in Kenya now has a new water source thanks to your donation! We constructed a new protected dug well adjacent to a new sand dam on the riverbed. The sand dam will 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 the 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.

Cynthia, right, celebrates clean water!

"I will no longer be walking for several kilometers over steep hills using dusty, rocky marram (grassy) roads to draw water. I will also be getting enough clean water throughout the long drought period. The implemented project will enable us to save time and effort, which will be redirected toward more productive or enjoyable activities," shared 16-year-old Cynthia.

Protected Dug Well Construction

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!

Community members help with construction.

First, we excavated a hole seven feet in diameter down to the recommended depth of 25 feet. The well lining was constructed using brick and mortar with perforations to allow water to seep through. Now that the well is finished, sand builds up around its walls, which will filter the water stored behind the dam.

Once the well walls and lining were complete, we laid a precast concrete slab on top and joined it to the wall using mortar. The concrete dried for two weeks before installation.

The well is attached to the sand dam.

Next, the mechanics arrived to install the well 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 water. After installing the pump, we gave the well another few days to dry.

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

Community Education

Our trainer worked with the field staff and community members to determine which topics the community could improve upon.

As we've worked with this Self-Help Group in the past, we asked them about the subjects they needed refresher training on.

"The new members, together with the old members, will benefit in many ways, like water treatment and implementation of sanitation infrastructures, and through this, a lot of diseases will be reduced. We have also reminded ourselves on soap and latrine disinfectant making. This will help us generate more income at [a] personal and group level," shared Maithya Lingwa, the Chairperson of the Water User Committee.

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

We covered health problems in the community, good and bad hygiene habits, and the prevention of disease. Finally, we covered natural resource management as well as the operation and maintenance of the sand dam.

Thank you for making all of this possible!

Project Type

Dug wells have been an important source of water throughout human history! Now, we have so many different types of water sources, but protected dug wells still have their place. Protected 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.