Katothya Community 1A

The biggest challenge in southeastern Kenya has always been the seasonal rivers, which only flow for a limited time each year. The 440 people in the community of Katothya are struggling to find the water they need to meet their daily needs without using all of their time and energy.

Community members rise as early as 6 a.m. to trek to the faraway Athi River to fetch water so they can beat the scorching sun, which gets hotter and hotter as the day passes. Fetching water from the Athi River is a full-day activity since it is so far away, which puts any other activities on hold. The only other alternative is to travel more than 10km (6.2 miles) to the nearest sand dam and well, a journey that most cannot afford to make.

Some community members who live nearer to the river can go up to three times a day to collect water. In contrast, those from afar have a journey of two hours one way and can only go once. The distance is too time-consuming. It exhausts them and their donkeys, who help with the journey.

To reach the area, individuals must pass through deep forests, which are habitats for fierce and poisonous animals, and that is not the only risk, since they must be careful of crocodiles once they get to the river.

"I find it hard to walk to the river every time I plan to. It is a very tedious journey and a risky one too. I am so much affected by the water scarcity in this area I cannot do anything else after visiting the river. Sometimes my legs are swollen as the journey is not a short one," said Damaris Mwanzau, a 52-year-old farmer.

Water from the river is not safe to drink because of contamination. Community members contract waterborne diseases from drinking the water, and experience skin rashes whenever they bathe with it.

"The situation of water scarcity here is wanting. At our home, the sanitation level is not as good as we expect it to be, and our clothes are barely washed. Sometimes we miss our mother when she leaves to fetch water at the river. We have to wait for her until she comes back to make a meal for us. Although every time she has to go to the river, she comes back very worn out, I find myself pitying her," said 11-year-old Matata M.

Farming is a challenge because of the distance to the water point, so individuals only grow crops that rely on the rainfall experienced twice a year. Usually, the yield is not sufficient enough for commercial sale, but only enough to provide just what a family needs.

A sand dam built at the nearby Katothya River will make collecting water much easier and less labor-intensive for community members.

What we can do:

Our main entry point into the community is the Katothya Self-Help Group, which is comprised of households that are working together to address water and food scarcity in their region. These members will be our hands and feet in both constructing water projects and spreading the message of good hygiene and sanitation to everyone.

Sand Dam

After the community picked the ideal spot, our technical team went in and proved the viability by finding a good foundation of bedrock. Now, our engineers are busy drawing up the blueprints.

We are unified with this community to address the water shortage. As more sand dams are built, the environment will continue to transform. As the sand dams mature and build up more sand, the water tables will rise. Along with this sand dam, a hand-dug well will be installed to give community members an easy, safe way to access that water.

Building this sand dam along with the well in this community will help bring clean water closer to hundreds of people living here.

Training

These community members currently do their best to practice good hygiene and sanitation, but their severe lack of water has been a big hindrance to reaching their fullest potential.

We will hold hygiene and sanitation training sessions with the Katothya Self-Help Group and other community members to teach about important hygiene practices and daily habits to establish at the personal, household, and community level. 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 water is flowing.

One of the most important topics we plan to cover is the handling, storage, and treatment of water. Having a clean water source will be extremely helpful, but it is useless if water gets contaminated by the time it is consumed. We will also emphasize the importance of handwashing.

We and the community strongly 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 trainings 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

March, 2023: Katothya Community Sand Dam Complete!

Katothya, Kenya now has access to a new water source thanks to your donation! We constructed a new sand dam on the riverbed, which will build up sand to raise the water table and naturally filter water over time. We also built a new hand-dug well with a hand pump adjacent to the sand dam, providing the community with a safer method to draw drinking water supplied by the dam.

"I am planning to start my little farm where I'll have vegetables like sukuma wiki (collard greens) and spinach. Having a sand dam near me is [good] because we shall have water near us: a reliable source during the dry seasons. This is a sign of hope to us and many other community members. Being a girl child, I am at the forefront of my family in ensuring proper hygiene and sanitation, [and] this water will play a major role in helping me to achieve that," said 18-year-old Veronicah N.

Sand Dam Construction Process

The members of Katothya Self-Help Group collected all of the local materials, like rocks and sand, required to complete the dam. The collection of raw construction materials takes longer than the actual construction, lasting up to four months for a large sand dam. The group also dedicated their time and energy to support our artisans with physical labor throughout the project.

First, our team drew siting and technical designs and presented them to the Water Resources Management Authority. We also sent a survey to the National Environment Management Authority for approval before we began construction.

Once the plans were approved, we established firm bedrock at the base of the sand dam wall. In the absence of good bedrock, we excavate to a depth at which the ground is compact enough to stop seepage.

Next, we mixed and heaped mortar (a mixture of sand, cement, and water) into the foundation, followed by rocks once there was enough mortar. We then used barbed wire and rebar to reinforce the mixture.

Once the foundation was complete, we built a timber skeleton to hold the sludge and rocks above ground level. Once our first layer dried, we repeated the process until reaching a sufficient height, width, and length.

Finally, we dismantled the vertical timber beams and left the dam to cure. This dam measures 44 meters long and four meters high and took 930 bags of cement to build.

As soon as it rains, the dam will build up sand and store water. With this water, the surrounding landscape will become lush and fertile, and the well will provide drinking water to the community. It could take up to three years of rain for this sand dam to reach maximum capacity because in this region, sometimes it only rains once a year!

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.

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.

Community members hold bottles of soap they've made themselves.

"We have now been educated that after visiting the latrine, we should wash our hands. Our latrines should be covered to prevent insects from flying directly from the latrine. The training has been of positive impact on us as a community," said 65-year-old farmer and secretary of the water user committee Benson Mutuku.

Benson.

The chairperson of the water user committee said, "[Training] places its emphasis on how to help participants be able to share experience, ideas, and confidence, as well as to deal with their own difficulties with a view to changing the community hygiene behavior, improving water and sanitation facilities and achieving their expected objectives by applying feasible and efficient measures. If community members become confident and committed to the construction, utilization, and management of water and sanitation facilities, they will be active project beneficiaries. Locals and communities need to be encouraged to make contributions and decisions in order to strengthen their problem-solving skills and to maximize the community creativeness."

Conclusion

This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members themselves. 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 our target areas, we’re working toward complete coverage of 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!

January, 2023: Katothya Community Sand Dam Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Katothya Community drains people’s time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

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

Katothya Community 1A

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Community Profile