Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 300 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Oct 2024

Functionality Status:  Functional

Project Features


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The 46 staff members who work at Emuhaya Subcounty Hospital struggle to obtain the necessary water to meet their patient's daily needs. Although they do their best to serve those who come to them for treatment, providing proper medical care is difficult with too little water.

The hospital provides several different types of services; dental care, laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, immunizations, a TB clinic, pediatrics, labor and delivery services, surgeries, and emergency care. On average, the hospital serves 112 outpatients and 75 inpatients daily, so water is critical, and without it, everyone suffers.

"The health facility faces challenges in [the] supply of clean, safe water throughout the year. Currently, the institution depends on [a] rainwater harvesting tank [system] located in the compound, which is insufficient," said field officer Samuel Samidi.

"The rainwater harvesting tanks are not sufficient. On several occasions, they run dry, forcing the institution [to] source water from outside."

The rain tank on the health center's campus is not large enough to hold adequate water for everyone's needs and quickly runs dry. When it empties, the staff must find water in other places like the local unprotected spring or have water delivered, which is too costly.

"The unprotected spring is open to contaminants, difficult to access, [and] does not provide enough water for its dependants, especially during prolonged drought," continued Samuel.

"Use of water from the unprotected spring endangers the health of members of the health facility. Members are at risk of contracting cholera, typhoid, or other water-related illnesses," said Samuel.

"I have been a victim of consuming contaminated water. I have been diagnosed with typhoid, not once but twice, forcing me [to] seek medical attention," said 46-year-old community health worker Doreen Oyiko (seen below).

But water-related sicknesses are not the only way the lack of water impacts the center. When staff have to leave the facility to find more water, their daily activities can not be completed, and patients needing emergent care are left without help and put at risk.

"Installation of a borehole will allow the institution access [to] clean, safe, sufficient water at any time of need. Availability of water will help improve the hygiene and sanitation standards of the institution and the surrounding communities at large," concluded Samuel.

Installing a well will enable staff members to provide better care for patients, and the 300 community members who live near the health center will also be able to access water to help meet their daily needs. Then everyone can stop relying on the unprotected local spring that is making them ill.

"Lack of clean, safe, reliable water is a challenge in this community. Our main source of water in this community is the unprotected spring which serves a big population. Water from the source is not safe for drinking as [it] is exposed to contaminants. Once, I have fallen victim [to] typhoid, which forced me [to] seek medical attention at our local hospital. I had to abscond classes which greatly affected my overall performance," shared 12-year-old Christopher C., shown above collecting water from the unprotected spring.

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

Handwashing Stations

Alongside each water source, we also provide two new gravity-fed handwashing stations that will allow everyone at the health center to wash their hands without running water. Handwashing is so important to help prevent illnesses, especially at a health center where hygiene is critical to vulnerable patients.

The health center staff will maintain the stations, fill them with water, and supply them with soap.

VIP Latrines

In addition, we will construct two triple-door Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrine blocks designed to prevent fecal disease transmission. Each latrine will have a cement floor, which is easy to use and clean regularly.

Project Updates


October, 2024: Emuhaya Subcounty Hospital New Well Complete!

Your contribution has given access to clean water for the Emuhaya Subcounty Hospital in Kenya, thanks to the completion of their borehole well! Staff, patients, and their families are already using the well’s flowing water, which will provide the health center with a reliable water source for all of its daily needs.

"Water shortages, which had become a common problem, will be a thing of the past. Cleaning the maternity area is a daily practice with a lot of water needed. Lacking water, even for [a] few hours, means that the whole place is exposed to [a] high risk of infection and serious hygiene issues like outbreak of diseases. [The] availability of water within this facility will make my work easier, especially with the fact that we need just two strokes of pumping and water flows," said 45-year-old maternity attendant Rose Machayo.

Rose Machayo.

Rose continued: "Having [a] reliable waterpoint here will greatly help me to plan my work well and execute it without hurry. I will improve my skills on serving expectant mothers before and after giving birth. Cleaning of sheets and other hospital garments had become a burdensome task to me, but now, going forward, with [an] abundance of water, I will be able to do [a] thorough cleaning and make our hospital the cleanest place for patients to visit for treatment and other health services."

"Since my home is just near the facility, I will be coming here to fetch safe water for drinking. Even when I pass by this place, I will enter this compound and quench my thirst before heading home. I will carry my safe drinking water from this point to school. Therefore, I will not fall sick or miss school because of [a] lack of water at home. From now henceforth, I believe that I will be free from diseases related to water because the borehole is well protected from contamination," said 7 year old Jaydene.

Jaydene.

"My mother will fetch clean water from the water point for family use and other domestic chores. Previously, my mummy used to go far to get water from community water sources, which was tiresome and time-wasting," Jaydene concluded.

How We Got the Water Flowing

Staff and community members all contributed to this well’s success. After determining the best site for the well through a hydrogeological survey, we obtained approval from the government to begin drilling.

To prepare, everyone helped collect fine sand and water for cement-making. Our drill team and staff arrived at the center to begin work when everything was ready.

"From [the] onset of the project to completion, the community was very cooperative and ready to provide all the required materials for the project to be successful," shared Field Officer Wilson Kipchoge.

Drilling begins.

Drilling started with excitement in the air. We continued drilling to reach a final depth of 78 meters with a final static water level of 22 meters.

The drilling process can take up to three consecutive days to complete due to this region’s hard bedrock, so the drill team set up a camp where they could rest and refuel.

Once we reached the required depth, a permanent casing was installed, and the dirty water at the bottom of the well was bailed out. Workers installed pipes, flushed them, tested the well’s yield, and chlorinated the water.

After chlorination, we constructed a cement well pad to seal it off from any ground-level contaminants. Tiles were installed beneath the spout to protect the cement from the erosive force of the water.

We included a short drainage channel and a soak pit to carry spilled water away from the pump and prevent standing water.

Crafting the soak pit.

When the well pad was dry, we installed a new stainless steel hand pump and performed a water quality test. The results showed this water was safe for drinking!

The enthusiasm for this much-anticipated project was overwhelming. We officially gave ownership of the new borehole to the health center staff and the local community members.

Installing the pump.

Everyone celebrated the health center’s new water source. The celebration was a great opportunity to acknowledge the staff and remind them of our continued support. Happiness, thanksgiving, and appreciation were the order of the day, flowing in all directions.

"The project of a borehole well is a milestone to this institution. For a very long time, water challenges have derailed the upgrading of the facility. Previously, getting water at this hospital was a nightmare. Where sometimes, the ambulance vehicle meant to carry patients in need of emergency was used to ferry water to the institution as a way of spending less to get water from outside," shared Wilson.

"On the other hand, support staff were used as a source of cheap labor to bring water to the hospital from the nearby water sources, which was a burden to them as they could not even meet the needs of the entire facility, but only for special cases like drinking, hand washing and cleaning. Patients were advised to come with their water from home, especially pregnant mothers who gave birth at the hospital, and their relatives were asked to carry water for cleaning and washing clothes for the babies and their mothers. With this project, the hospital is now going to operationalize a theatre department to deal with all surgeries referred to the facility and be able to run all other programs without fear of water shortage," he concluded.

Community Education

We scheduled hygiene and sanitation training with the health center staff. When the training day arrived, Field Officer Wilson deployed to the site to lead the event. Twenty-four community health volunteers attended the training.

Learning to make soap.

During our training, we covered a range of essential topics, including personal, oral, food, and environmental hygiene. We discussed disease prevention strategies, the ten-step handwashing protocol, and the construction of handwashing facilities. Additionally, we talked about safe water handling, maintenance, and operation of waterpoints, as well as principles of leadership and governance.

"Being practitioners in the field, especially health promotion in the community, participants were free to discuss and listen to every topic that was shared with them. The forum provided a platform for community health volunteers to also learn [about] water issues, and they promised to incorporate them in their assignments as they visit different communities as their roles demand," shared Wilson.

Dental hygiene session.

"Dental hygiene was the most interesting topic I learned; this, in particular, is because I have not been so serious about taking care of my teeth and those of my family members. Today, I have known that small mistakes and assumptions we make will one day cost me and my family money in [the] future, money which should be used for other pressing needs," said Judith Mary, a 46-year-old health volunteer.

Judith Mary.

"I have gained more knowledge on water treatment using simple ways like solar disinfection, which does not require any resources like fuel or money to do it, but just the sun and a clear container, and everything is sorted. [I] am going to apply this method of water treatment in my family and save the money used in buying fuel and also [the] chemicals like water guard or aqua tabs to treat water."

Thank you for making all of this possible!




Project Photos


Project Type

Abundant water is often right under our feet! Beneath the Earth’s surface, rivers called aquifers flow through layers of sediment and rock, providing a constant supply of safe water. For borehole wells, we drill deep into the earth, allowing us to access this water which is naturally filtered and protected from sources of contamination at the surface level. First, we decide where to drill by surveying the area and determining where aquifers are likely to sit. To reach the underground water, our drill rigs plunge through meters (sometimes even hundreds of meters!) of soil, silt, rock, and more. Once the drill finds water, we build a well platform and attach a hand pump. If all goes as planned, the community is left with a safe, closed water source providing around five gallons of water per minute! Learn more here!


Contributors

2 individual donor(s)