December, 2019: Kathonzweni Community Sand Dam Complete!

Kathonzweni, Kenya now has access to a new source of water thanks to your donation. A new sand dam was constructed on a sandy riverbed, which will build up sand to raise the water table and naturally filter water.

We worked with the Kyeni Kya Ngungani Self-Help Group for this project. The members and their families contributed materials and physical labor to complete the project. In addition, they were trained on various skills such as bookkeeping, financial management, project management, group dynamics, and governance. We also conducted a hygiene and sanitation training to teach skills like soapmaking and to help improve behaviors such as handwashing.

When an issue arises concerning the water project, 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 our team of field officers to assist them.

Sand Dam

The community members collected all of the local materials like rocks and sand that were required for the successful completion of the dam. They also provided labor to support our artisans. The collection of raw construction materials takes longer than the actual construction. For a large sand dam, materials collection could take up to 4 months.

Siting and technical designs were drawn and presented to the Water Resources Management Authority and a survey sent to the National Environment Management Authority for approval before construction started. Once approved, we established firm bedrock at the base of the sand dam wall. In the absence of good bedrock, excavation is done up to a depth at which the technical team is satisfied that the ground is firm enough to stop seepage.

Then mortar (a mixture of sand, cement, and water) is mixed and heaped into the foundation. Rocks are heaped into the mortar once there is enough to hold. Barbed wire and rebar are used to reinforce the mixture.

Once the foundation is complete, a skeleton of timber is built to hold up the sludge and rocks above ground level. The process is then repeated until a sufficient height, width, and length are built up. The vertical timber beams are dismantled and the dam is left to cure.

Sand dam construction was simultaneous to the construction of a hand-dug well, which gives locals a safer method of drawing water. As the sand dam matures and stores more water, more of it will be accessible as drinking water from the well. To see that hand-dug well, click here.

As soon as it rains, the dam will begin to build up sand and store water. With this water, the surrounding landscape will become lush and fertile. However, it could take up to 3 years of rain for this sand dam to reach maximum capacity.

New Knowledge

The hygiene and sanitation training was planned by the hygiene officer Christine Lucas and Kathonzweni area field officer Muendo Ndambuki. The group Co-Chair was informed of the plans for a 3-day training and he communicated with his fellow members to mobilize them for the training.

The venue for this training was at Bernard Muli’s homestead, a member of the group.

“We chose to meet at this homestead because he has a big space and enough shade to host all of us,” said Emma Munyao, the Co-Chair of the group.

20 people, with the majority being self-help group members, attended training for each of the 3 days. Among the attendees were 2 community leaders, one from a school and the other from a church. The members were very enthusiastic and interested in learning new information and this was a major contributor to their attendance.

The environment was conducive and friendly for training. However, the weather was somewhat chilly and windy throughout.

“Mr. Muli's homestead is also near our first sand dam and therefore we can easily access water to use during the training,” added Lavu Iluve, a member of the group.

The trainer conferred with the field staff about their previous visits to households and interviews with community members to determine which topics the community still could improve upon.

They decided to train on topics including health problems in the community; good and bad hygiene behaviors; how diseases spread and their prevention; choosing sanitation improvements; choosing improved hygiene behaviors; planning for behavioral change; handwashing; and soapmaking.

The level of participation was very good over the 3 days. There were demonstrative activities where the community members volunteered to participate. In addition, they were very active and expressive which made the training very lively.

The members were taken through training on how to make 2 types of soap. The demonstration involved a lot of stirring and the participants took turns in stirring and were patient enough until the final product was obtained. The participants were very happy to learn how to make these products.

The oldest member of this group is a 91-year-old who is very well conversed with the history of Kenya. During the training, as the members stirred the soap he started singing historic songs for them and this made them laugh a lot making the training interesting and therefore memorable.

Mixing the soap

“We are very happy to learn the whole process of making these products. This is something we have yearned for for a long time,” said Ann Samuel, a member of this group.

The participants were divided into 2 groups and were tasked to list the common diseases they suffer within the community, the season in which they occur, and their causes. A tool known as the seasonal calendar was used to train on this topic. Members later met in 1 larger group for presentations. The outcome of this discussion was very good as members listed the most common diseases they suffer, with waterborne diseases topping the list as the most common.

During the discussion on this topic, participants had many questions compared to the other topics. The trainer, therefore, took a lot of time covering this topic until they were satisfied. The high level of participation made the topic memorable.

"The training was very good," said Emma Munyao.

"It will help us improve our hygiene and sanitation in our homesteads. We will train other members of our community on hygiene and sanitation and this will lead to reduced cases of diarrhea and other water-related diseases."

Thank you for making all of this possible!

October, 2019: Kathonzweni Community Sand Dam Underway!

People in Kathonzweni community are traveling long distances to drink dirty water that is making them sick. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to construct a sand dam and much more.

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