Muraka Community, Peter Itevete Spring

June, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Muraka Community, Peter Itevete Spring

Our teams are working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us in our fight against the virus while maintaining access to clean, reliable water.

A man shows his informational pamphlet on COVID-19 received at training

We are carrying out awareness and prevention trainings on the virus in every community we serve. Very often, our teams are the first (and only) to bring news and information of the virus to rural communities like Muraka, Kenya.

We trained more than 12 people on the symptoms, transmission routes, and prevention of COVID-19. Due to public gathering concerns, we worked with trusted community leaders to gather a select group of community members who would then relay the information learned to the rest of their family and friends.

Handwashing demonstration

We covered essential hygiene lessons:

- Demonstrations on how to build a simple handwashing station

- Proper handwashing technique

- The importance of using soap and clean water for handwashing

- Cleaning and disinfecting commonly touched surfaces including at the water point.

An elder demonstrates handwashing

We covered COVID-19-specific guidance in line with national and international standards:

- Information on the symptoms and transmission routes of COVID-19

- What social distancing is and how to practice it

- How to cough into an elbow

- Alternative ways to greet people without handshakes, fist bumps, etc.

- How to make and properly wear a facemask.

A girl demonstrates handwashing

During training, we installed a new handwashing station with soap near the community’s water point, along with a sign with reminders of what we covered.

Due to the rampant spread of misinformation about COVID-19, we also dedicated time to a question and answer session to help debunk rumors about the disease and provide extra information where needed.

Children listen in at training

We continue to stay in touch with this community as the pandemic progresses. We want to ensure their water point remains functional and their community stays informed about the virus.

Prevention reminders chart

Water access, sanitation, and hygiene are at the crux of disease prevention. You can directly support our work on the frontlines of COVID-19 prevention in all of the communities we serve while maintaining their access to safe, clean, and reliable water.

August, 2018: Clean Water in Muraka Community

Muraka Community now has clean water! Peter Itevete Spring has been transformed into a flowing source of clean water thanks to your donation. The spring is protected from contamination, five sanitation platforms have been provided for the community, and training has been done on sanitation and hygiene.

New Knowledge

We started planning for hygiene and sanitation training when monitoring the ongoing construction work. We found tons of community members assisting our artisan there. That's when we informed people about the training and why it is so important. They were all excited and agreed, working with us to set a good date for training. They then took these plans to the rest of the community.

The participants were fully involved during the training. They readily gave their opinions on a number of topics. During discussions, they discovered they often do things differently from what we were teaching.

We covered several topics including leadership and governance; operation and maintenance of the spring; healthcare; family planning; immunizations; the spread of disease and prevention. We also covered water treatment methods, personal care like handwashing, environmental hygiene, hygiene promotion, and many other things.

Handwashing demonstration

We visited some households and discussed environmental hygiene and the daily habits practiced by mothers, fathers, and children. Mothers learned to always cover food when cooking, as well as the right way to store food and drinking water. Men have been delegated the task of clearing brush and weeds from around the home, along with digging a pit for garbage disposal.

It seems people are most excited to put rules into place for the proper use of the spring. They are also excited to take proper care of it by maintaining good drainage and building a fence.

Learning about care and management at the spring.

Sanitation Platforms

Six sanitation platforms have been installed and make wonderful, easy to clean latrine floors. These six families are happy about this milestone of having a private latrine of their own and are optimistic that people will no longer leave waste outdoors. We are continuing to encourage families to finish building walls and roofs over their new latrine floors.

Because of disagreements between community members, we donated two extra sanitation platforms to families. There is one sanitation platform that has not been installed since the owner has a disability and cannot dig a pit. He also lacks the fund to hire manual labor, so community members have agreed to come together and raise funds.

Spring Protection

Community members provided all locally available construction materials, e.g bricks, wheelbarrows of clean sand, wheelbarrows of ballast, fencing poles and gravel. Accommodations and meals were provided for the artisan, too.

The stones that community members delivered to the spring construction site.

The spring area was excavated to create space for setting the foundation of polyethylene, wire mesh and concrete. After the base had been set, both wing walls and the headwall were set in place using brickwork. The discharge pipe was fixed low in place through the headwall to direct the water from the reservoir to the drawing area.

As the wing walls and headwall cured, the stairs were set and ceramic tiles were fixed directly below the discharge pipe. This protects the concrete from the erosive force of the falling water and beautifies the spring. The process of plastering the headwall and wing walls on both sides reinforces the brickwork and prevents water from the reservoir from seeping through the walls and allows pressure to build in the collection box to push water up through the discharge pipe.

The source area was filled up with clean stones and sand and covered with a polyethylene membrane to eliminate any potential sources of contamination. The concrete dried over the course of two weeks.

As soon as the spring protection was ready for use, the field officer made a visit to officially hand it over to the community. When we first started working in Muraka, we learned there were 40 households relying on Peter Itevete Spring.

Mr. James Magada said, "During rainfall, the overflow would flood the spring and due to proximate farming, the spring would get very dirty and be unsafe. It was really affecting community members."

But since it's been transformed into a clean water source, 15 more households have moved closer to benefit from it.

"Protecting the spring is an answer to prayer because it is going to save money we had always been using to treat waterborne diseases," Mrs. Georgina Ayesa said.

May, 2018: Muraka Community Project Underway

Dirty water from Peter Itevete Spring is making people in Muraka Community sick. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know your 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 more good news!