Borehole Well and Hand Pump
Rehabilitation Project
An average of 100 patients are seen daily at the Imbiakalo Dispensary. The staff of 7 does the best they can to provide quality health services, but without a reliable water source, delivering proper care is challenging.
Water should not be a problem — but it is. Piped water fails too often and costs too much. The only alternative is pulling general staff away from their duties to haul water from a community well, sometimes multiple times a day. That ripple effect slows everything down and ultimately delays the care patients need.
Field Officer Betty Mwangi explains, "The health facility relies on piped water, but the supply is frequently rationed, and there are days when no water is available at all. The facility pays KSh 1,500 ($11 USD) per month for the water service, making it costly despite the unreliable supply. During water shortages, casual workers are forced to fetch water from a nearby borehole. This process is time-consuming, leads to delays in service delivery, and the amount of water they can carry is often insufficient to meet the facility's daily needs for patient care, cleaning, sanitation, and other essential operations."
"To address the frequent water shortages, the officer in charge of the health facility purchased a 2,000-liter plastic storage tank to store water whenever the piped supply is available. The tank is kept locked, and only authorized staff, particularly the nurses, are allowed to access it. They carefully fill containers used by patients and staff to prevent unnecessary wastage and ensure the available water lasts during periods when the piped supply is unavailable," continued Betty.
But even with careful attention, there is never enough water to go around.
Forty-year-old doctor Jacob Musimbi is intimately aware of the challenges.
"The high cost of purchasing water places a financial burden on the health care facility. Money that could be used to buy medicines, medical supplies, or improve services is instead spent on water. This limits the facility's ability to provide quality health care and affects its day-to-day operations, especially during periods of water shortage," said Dr. Musimbi.
The reduced clinic budget is not the only financial impact.
Dr. Musimbi.
"The high cost of water affects me personally because I sometimes have to use my own money to ensure there is enough water for patient care and hygiene when the facility runs short. This puts financial pressure on me and can be stressful, as I have other personal and family responsibilities to meet," said Dr. Musimbi.
"If I didn't have to spend money on water, I would use it to support my family's needs, such as paying school fees, buying food, meeting household expenses, and saving for future investments. This would improve my family's financial stability and overall well-being," he explained.
Taking an oath of duty of care often costs doctors significant sums, but it shouldn't cost Dr. Musimbi and his family their personal security.
Steps Toward a Solution
For health care settings, immediate access to a large quantity of clean water is crucial for handwashing, sterilization of equipment, cleaning, and safe childbirth. Water that is off-site creates delays, impacts patient care, and increases the risk of hospital-acquired infections.
Our coverage goals aim for all health centers to have an on-premises water source that will sufficiently serve the patients, healthcare providers, and staff to ensure accessibility, reliability, and safety. With more water available, healthcare workers do not have to ration water, worry about purchasing water with their limited funds, or make tough decisions about when to wash their hands or equipment.
Reliable, clean water ensures that healthcare workers have sufficient water so they can provide excellent patient care!
Our technical experts worked with the health center leadership and the local community to identify the most effective solution to their water crisis. They decided to drill a borehole well, construct a platform for the well, and attach a hand pump.
Well
Abundant water often lies just beneath our feet. Aquifers—natural underground rivers—flow through layers of sediment and rock, offering a constant supply of safe water. A borehole well is drilled deep into the earth to access this naturally filtered and protected water. We penetrate meters, sometimes even hundreds of meters, of soil, silt, rock, and more to reach the water underground. Once found, we construct a platform for the well and attach a hand pump. The community gains a safe, enclosed water source capable of providing approximately five gallons of water per minute. Learn more here!
Handwashing Stations
Alongside each water source, we install two gravity-fed handwashing stations, enabling everyone at the health center to wash their hands. Handwashing is crucial for preventing water-related illnesses within the health center and community. Health center staff will maintain the stations, fill them with water, and supply them with soap, which we often teach them how to make.
Latrines
We ensure there are Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrine blocks that effectively prevent the transmission of fecal diseases. Each latrine will boast a durable cement floor for easy use and maintenance. We’ll ensure at least one stall is reserved for staff, along with gender-separated toilets that include menstrual hygiene facilities and accessible options for individuals with limited mobility.
Health Care Staff and Community Education & Ownership
Hygiene and sanitation training are integral to our water projects. Training is tailored to each community's specific needs and includes key topics such as proper water handling, improved hygiene practices, disease transmission prevention, and care of the new water point. Safe water and improved hygiene habits foster a healthier future for everyone in the community.
Encouraged and supported by the guidance of our team, a water user committee representative of the community's diverse members assumes responsibility for maintaining the water point, often gathering fees to ensure its upkeep.
