Kalamba Community A

Project Status

Project Type: Sand Dam

Regional Program: Southeastern Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 440 Served

Project Phase: In Service - Oct 2024

Functionality Status: Functional

Project Features

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The 440 community members of Kalamba face an incredibly frustrating challenge. Many people walk over three miles to collect water from a scoop hole (seen below), but there isn't enough, and what they do find is unsafe to consume.

Kalama community as a whole is drained from the water crisis they face. Most adults are farmers, so any time not spent on their trade is taking away their income. Families already struggle to have enough resources to meet their needs, often going without crucial medical care because it's too expensive. Moreover, medical care is often needed because the scoop hole they collect water from is contaminated by animal waste and many other contaminants.

Forty-five-year-old farmer Alice Maithya, seen below carrying water, shared her thoughts about the water crisis in her community. "Water from the scoop hole is contaminated, and me and my children often contract typhoid, amoeba, and various stomach upsets. One of my grandchildren has not gone to school for a couple of days now because of stomach upsets, and I can only get local herbs because taking her to a dispensary is expensive, and I did not reap much from the last harvest."

"We also lack enough water for drinking, and we have to remain thirsty [on] several occasions," she continued.

Field Officer Alex Koech said, "The main sources of water in the area have a low quantity of water, [are] located several kilometers away and [are] contaminated. The low quantity of water from the water points has led to quarrels between community members because everyone wants to finish up and concentrate on other affairs. Sometimes, the donkeys (the main form of water transportation) become stubborn and refuse to carry the load because of exhaustion."

Alex continued, "The scoop holes are open to contamination from the community members and their livestock. This exposes the residents to infections such as typhoid, amoeba, dysentery, diarrhea, and more."

Adults struggle to meet their families' needs. In comparison, children have to sacrifice integral learning time to contribute to collecting water.

Sixteen-year-old Kimanzi M., seen below collecting water, vocalized how the water crisis affects him. "Getting water to drink is difficult because I have to walk several kilometers searching for water, which consumes most of my time. Sometimes, taking a bath is difficult because water is scarce. I am also required to carry water to school each morning, meaning I need to fetch water in the evening after classes, which is very exhausting and has affected my performance level in school."

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.

"When the project [is] installed, I will no longer walk several kilometers searching for water, and I will get more time to study or play with my friends. I will also have enough water to perform personal hygiene and sanitation," Kimanzi remarked.

"When the proposed water point [is] installed, my children and I will have enough clean water to drink, and we will no longer [be] exposed to infections such as typhoid, amoeba, and dysentery," Alice concluded.

Giving the Kalamba Community access to safe water closer to home will give them the tools to dream of a better future.

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

October, 2024: Kalamba Community Sand Dam Complete!

Kalamba Community, Kenya now has access to a new water source thanks to your donation! We constructed a sand dam on the riverbed, which will 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 the drinking water supplied by the dam.

Celebrating the complete sand dam.

"We will now get water for growing vegetables, and we will be spending only a few minutes to fetch water because this waterpoint is close to my home. The environment will also improve because the sand dam will promote [the] growth of greenery near it. We will have enough water to grow trees, and our livestock will easily get drinking water, unlike before when we used to walk several kilometers searching for water," said 32-year-old Daniel Kitheka.

Mr. Daniel Kitheka.

"The water is close, which will ensure safety because my wife or children will not be walking alone over long distances. Eating fruits will also establish good health for my family, and since I participated in the implementation of the sand dam project, it will help my family remember me for the good work," continued Daniel.

Sand Dam Construction

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

"The community members were resilient during the construction process because they mobilized the local materials on time before the project began. They also solved any conflicts and motivated each other during difficult times to ensure the project was completed," shared Field Officer Alex Koech.

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

Once the plans were approved, we established a firm base for the sand dam wall. Usually, this requires the community to dig all the way down to the bedrock beneath the river channel. In the absence of good bedrock, we excavate to a depth at which the ground is compact enough to stop seepage.

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

Once the foundation was complete, we built a timber skeleton to hold the structure above ground level. 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 26 meters long and 3 meters high and took 790 bags of cement.

When the rains come, sand and silt will be carried down the dry riverbed and built up behind the dam wall. This reservoir of sand acts as a giant natural filter and allows rainwater to seep into the ground and raise the water table. 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!

Community Education

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

"The good practices that we have learned like water treatment, washing utensils and drying them on a utensil rack, maintaining water source hygiene, knowledge gained from seasonal calendar and communicable diseases, having a latrine and having a squat hole cover, among other things will help us prevent diseases," shared 74-year-old farmer Moses Ngonde.

Moses Ngonde.

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.

Community asset mapping.

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.

Learning how to make soap.

"This is a new group that is determined to reduce the adversities of water shortage in the area. Therefore, the group has put plans to ensure that they achieve food security, improved hygiene, and income stability," said Field Officer Alex.

Thank you for making all of this possible!

August, 2024: Kalamba Community Sand Dam Underway!

The lack of adequate water in Kalamba Community costs people time, energy, and health every single day. Clean water scarcity contributes to community instability and diminishes individuals’ personal progress.

But thanks to your recent generosity, things will soon improve here. We are now working to install a reliable water point and improve hygiene standards. We look forward to sharing inspiring news in the near future!

Project Type

Sand dams are huge, impressive structures built into the riverbeds of seasonal rivers (rivers that disappear every year during dry seasons). Instead of holding back a reservoir of water like a traditional dam would, sand dams accumulate a reservoir of silt and sand. Once the rain comes, the sand will capture 1-3% of the river’s flow, allowing most of the water to pass over. Then, we construct shallow wells on the riverbank to provide water even when the river has dried up, thanks to new groundwater reserves. Learn more here!

Kalamba Community A

Project Status

Community Profile

Community Profile

Report Submitted by
Alex Koech, Communications Officer