The Water Project’s WaSH program in Western Kenya aims to access, protect, filter, and purify the abundant waters that are available through two seasonal rains, prevalent springs, high water tables, and deep aquifers in the region. Explore water projects in communities, schools, and churches in Western Kenya such as protected springs, rainwater catchment systems, and water wells. This program emphasizes the power of strategic geographical saturation of projects, effective hygiene and sanitation training, and relational networking between NGOs, health workers, local politicians, and educators.
Springs are water sources that come from deep underground, where the water is filtered through natural layers until it is clean enough to drink. Once the water pushes through the surface of the Earth, however, outside elements like waste and runoff can contaminate the water quickly. We protect spring sources from contamination with a simple waterproof cement structure surrounding layers of clay, stone, and soil. This construction channels the spring’s water through a discharge pipe, making water collection easier, faster, and cleaner. Each spring protection also includes a chlorine dispenser at the waterpoint so community members can be assured that the water they are drinking is entirely safe. Learn more here!
Rehabilitation Project
Rehabilitation is not just fixing a pump - it’s total community re-engagement.
There’s only one thing we can think of that might be worse than not having safe water: having safe water, and then losing it because a project fell into disrepair.
Rehabilitation often proves to be a big challenge, as many wells have sit idle for years and there is typically little information about the specifics of the well. A borehole and dug well rehabilitation involves quite a bit of discovery. First, our teams work to discover as much as they can about the initial project. What materials were used? Was the borehole/hand-dug well properly constructed? Many of these questions can only be answered by diving in, and doing “the work” which makes up a rehabilitation.
Once our teams have found the problem, they find the solution. Then, they reconstruct the well and install a hand pump.
Engagement and training with communities takes into account rehabilitation was needed and alters the program to suit the needs of the community. After all - engaging with this community in the same way which led to the initial, failed project will not bring new results. Our teams work to understand the social and support reasons leading to initial failure, and make those areas a focus of our ongoing engagement with communities.
Local Leadership
Water projects don’t last long without the help of local leaders. They’re the ones who explain the situation on the ground to us (and our donors!) while also outlining our goals and intentions for the community members.
The Water Project identifies, supports, and partners with local organizations that share our vision of reliable, verifiable, and clean water. Together, we build lasting local solutions and undertake ongoing monitoring and resolution to ensure our solutions are still working years into the future.
Community Engagement
We engage the communities we work with at every step of a water project.
These interactions are rooted in relationship-building. We involve the community in implementation, set expectations for water point management, prepare community members for ongoing costs, and more. All of this happens before a water project is installed.
The people receiving a water project get a leading seat at the table. Every water project we implement requires negotiations with several interested parties. During this step and every other, we continuously try to embody our favorite ideals: reliability, relationship, and trust.
Sanitation Platform (SanPlat)
Easily made latrine slabs encourage household bathroom construction.
Proper hygiene and sanitation facilities go hand-in-hand with access to clean, reliable water.
A SanPlat is most literally the slab one would squat over when utilizing the bathroom.
The community chooses 5 households to receive SanPlats made on site under our training and guidance. The goal: seeing the need for safe latrines throughout their community, each household will be inspired to build their own.
Hygiene and Sanitation Training
For many communities, water is just the beginning. Living without water deprioritizes things that deplete water rations, like bathing, cleaning, and even handwashing. Also, in some cases, community members who couldn’t afford to go to school never learned topics usually covered in health classes. A steady water supply on its own won’t solve these issues, which is why we train the people in every community, school, and health center we provide with a water project.
Although we tailor the subjects we cover in each training to each region and community, there are some staples we always touch on: water handling and storage; personal and environmental hygiene; disease transmission; how to form and maintain a water user committee; and the operation/maintenance of the community’s new water project.
With each training, our goal is to empower communities to take back their personal health so growth and development can begin.
Monitoring and Resolution
Sub-Saharan Africa is littered with broken and abandoned wells installed by well-meaning people.
We love celebrating when a project is complete and a community has access to clean, safe water. However, reliability is the true measure of our impact.
Water can only transform lives if it’s always there. Water-fetchers need to know that when they visit one of our water points, there will always be water. Sometimes, it only takes one sip of dirty water to make someone sick, even if they’d been drinking clean water for months beforehand.
This is why we measure our water projects’ downtime in hours, not days or weeks. Each hour is critical to someone’s life, and each hour someone has to wait for clean water is another opportunity to go back to the rivers, swamps, and scoop holes they resorted to before our water project was installed. Our past water projects are just as important as what we tackle in the future.
The Water Project monitors all of our water projects to make sure water service continues. To learn more about how you can help with ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and resolution, read about The Water Promise: a group of amazing, world-changing monthly donors who understand the power of keeping water flowing long after the installation is done.
Project Timeline FAQ
Project Status
We’re working hard to make sure your gifts result in a lasting water project for the community it serves. Our engagement with a community begins many months before construction and lasts years after construction. The timeline here is focused on the physical construction of the water project. There is also training and engagement work that has already started.
Water project construction in the developing world is hard work. A lot of things can and do cause delays - which are normal. We attempt to make our best judgment of when construction will be complete, but the circumstances surrounding actual "in the field" conditions are far from our control.
Weather, supply availability, government paperwork, and progress of community involvement are just a few of the variables that can delay (and sometimes speed up) a project's completion.
We will always tell you if anything changes. And, if you get a notice like this – it’s actually further proof your gifts are being carefully used towards a water project that lasts.
Click icons to learn about each feature.
Report Submitted by Emmah Nambuye, Executive Director
Emmah Nambuye has a wealth of experience from working in the development sector for over 10 years. For Emmah, it isn’t just about the clean water; it is about putting smiles on people’s faces. She is using her training in financial management as well as monitoring and evaluation to serve these communities, and is humbled she gets to do so on a daily basis.
She has been blessed with three children: Julius, Isaac, and Shirleen Naomi. Emmah loves watching cartoons with her children, her favorite being “Tom and Jerry.”
Emmah has been a Executive Director since 2015, with Friends of Timothy Foundation, The Water Project's trusted partner in our Western Kenya WaSH Program.
The leading cause of death in Mungakha is water-related disease. Adults have a better chance at pulling through when stricken with typhoid or cholera, but children under age five are at a high risk of fatality since their parents cannot afford treatment.
This is because dirty water is used for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. Nyanje Spring is an open water source that is subjected to all sorts of contamination. Community members have tried to make the water-fetching process easier by placing an iron sheet that funnels water into their containers.
"I wish we could just have safe drinking water," said Jackline Okhaso.
"Treating it has always been a challenge for me. Typhoid has stuck in my body and I can't afford medication."
Mungakha Village is in a rural area dotted with mud houses. It is quiet as people go about their daily chores and farming. The place is very green and lush, and we noticed many people planting and weeding during our first visit.
The most common crop was sugarcane, but the nearest sugar millers, Mumias Sugar Factory, has gone under. That has forced most of the Mungakha farmers to plant either maize or beans. Women keep vegetable gardens outside their homes, which they harvest mainly to feed the family. There are some other jobs besides farming; Patrick Nyanje is a driver for a local member of parliament, while others work in factories.
People wake up at 6am to prepare their children for school. Most have prepared the morning tea in the evening before going to bed. They clean the compound, tend to the animals, and head to the farm to work up to midday. After eating something they can rest for a few minutes before going to fetch firewood and vegetables to prepare dinner. They have dinner from around 8pm and sleep thereafter.
What we can do:
Spring Protection
Nyanje Spring is located at the bottom of a slope, which allows a lot of dirt into the water. During the rainy season, human activity, animal activity, and fertilizers from the farms nearby are deposited into the spring, making the water unsafe for human consumption. The area around the spring is slippery and it needs good stairs for safe access.
A spring protection will address all of this. Construction will protect the source from contamination. Community members will be able to descend cement stairs and place their container under a discharge to easily fetch good water.
Sanitation Platforms
There are many households without a latrine. Those that have latrines make them out of mud, which is very hard to clean.
"Our mud floors are always slippery, and during the rainy season we prefer to use the bushes," said Patrick Nyanje.
Community members will vote on five families who are in the greatest need of new cement latrine floors. As the artisans construct these, the rest of the community will be trained on ways they can make their own latrines safer.
Training
Most of the community members have clotheslines, although they spread their bedding on the ground. Open defecation is evident, as many latrines here have collapsed. Nobody has a place dug for their garbage, and they just throw their waste in their farms. Handwashing facilities are lacking, so we need to train people on handwashing and its importance.
Community members will attend hygiene and sanitation training for at least two days. This training will ensure participants have the knowledge they need about healthy practices and their importance. The facilitator plans to use PHAST (Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation), CLTS (Community-Led Total Sanitation), ABCD (Asset-Based Community Development), group discussions, handouts, and demonstrations at the spring. 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’s consumed.
Training will also result in the formation of a committee that will oversee operations and maintenance at the spring. They will enforce proper behavior around the spring and delegate tasks that will help preserve the site, such as building a fence and digging proper drainage. The fence will keep out destructive animals, and the drainage will keep the area’s mosquito population low.
Project Updates
July, 2020: Through Their Eyes: COVID-19 Chronicles with Patrick Okhaso Nyanje
This post is part of a new series by The Water Project meant to highlight the perspectives and experiences of the people we serve and how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting them. We invite you to read more of their stories here.
Patrick Okhaso Nyanje is a man of many skills. At 40 years old, Patrick's main line of work is as a driver for the local Member of Parliament from Mumias East. At home, Patrick also runs a brick-making business using water from Nyanje Spring in addition to serving as the Chair of the spring's water user committee. As the landowner of the spring, ensuring clean water continues to serve not just his family, but also his home community of Mungakha, Kenya is at the heart of everything Patrick does.
Patrick Okhaso Nyanje outside his home in Mungakha
Our team recently visited Mungakha to conduct a COVID-19 prevention training (read more about it below!) and monitor their water point. Shortly after, we returned to check in on the community, offer a COVID-19 refresher training, and ask how the pandemic is affecting their lives. It was during this most recent visit that Patrick shared his story of how the coronavirus has impacted his life.
Program Coordinator Protus Ekesa met Patrick outside his home to conduct the interview. Both Protus and Patrick observed social distancing and other precautions throughout the visit to ensure their health and safety. Their questions and answers have been edited for clarity and length.
What is one thing that has changed in your community since the protection of Nyanje Spring?
"People used to fetch water from wells, but since the installation of this water point, people have shifted their attention and are now using the spring water for drinking and house chores. The number of water users has increased, and we are no longer suffering from waterborne diseases like Amoeba and Typhoid."
Patrick fetches water from Nyanje Spring.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Kenya, has fetching water changed for you because of restrictions, new rules, or your concerns about the virus?
"Fetching water has changed since I am now more careful while fetching water in observing social distancing, washing my hands, and also ensuring that I avoid crowds at the spring. I am happy that the virus does not affect the water and is safe for drinking anytime."
Community members observe social distancing as they line up to fetch water from Nyanje Spring after Patrick.
How has having a clean water point helped you through the pandemic so far?
"Having clean water has been so beneficial because I am using the water to wash my hands. Clean water has helped my children not to go looking for water elsewhere; therefore, they are avoiding gathering at water points. This has helped my family and me greatly."
Patrick washes his hands using water from the spring and the leaky tin he established outside his home.
How has COVID-19 impacted your family?
"I am not able to go to work as I used to because so many things have been shut down, and my employer is not coming home as he used to. The children have been affected negatively since they are now staying at home since schools were closed down till further notice. We don't know when they will be back in school."
Editor's Note: Since Patrick's interview, Kenya's president announced that primary and secondary schools have a tentative reopening date of January 2021.
Patrick with his wife and kids at home
What other challenges are you experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
"I am not able to socialize as I used to because I do not know who has the disease and who doesn't have the disease. I am afraid of even meeting my boss when he comes back since he meets so many people in Nairobi and I may not be safe."
"I am not able to provide for my family as I used to before COVID-19 came. This is because there is no money and work is low; businesses are not as they used to be. I used to travel with my boss to Nairobi, sometimes in Mombasa, and it was beneficial since I could be paid extra, but the pandemic has confined me to Mumias East Sub-County."
Patrick shows some of his current stock of bricks for sale made using water from Nyanje Spring
What hygiene and sanitation steps have you and your community taken to stop the spread of the virus?
"The community is adhering to the government directives on wearing masks, keeping social distance, and washing their hands with clean water and soap. The member of parliament for Mumias East has provided handwashing stations and placed them at strategic places like boda boda shades (motorbike taxi driver hubs) and market entries. He has also provided sanitation booths where someone can pass through and get sanitized, especially when going home so that in case you sat at a place where the virus is, your clothes are sanitized and you are free before meeting your family at home."
Area Member of Parliament for Mumias East Mr. Washali takes the inaugural walk through one of the chlorine sanitization booths he installed in the area.
"The Member of Parliament has also provided the community with infrared non-contact thermometers to test the community members to ensure they know their [temperature] status. I have a handwashing station [at home], and I am keeping social distance. I am also wearing a mask when leaving home and washing hands with soaps regularly."
The infrared forehead thermometer the Member of Parliament from Mumias East, Mr. Washali, is bringing to his communities.
What restriction were you most excited to see lifted already?
"Curfew hours have been reduced. It used to be from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am, but it was lifted partially. It's now from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am. This made me excited because I have [enough] time to get home before curfew time, and I can avoid encountering security personnel who are enforcing the curfew!"
Patrick shows his mask before putting it on.
What restriction are you still looking forward to being lifted?
"Opening of places of worship."
When asked where he receives information about COVID-19, Patrick listed the radio, television, newspaper, loudspeaker/megaphone announcements, word of mouth, and our team's sensitization training.
Patrick puts on his face mask.
What has been the most valuable part of the COVID-19 sensitization training you received from our team?
"Handwashing during this pandemic period, how to make face masks at home, and [reassurance that] the water at the spring is not contaminated [with the virus]."
May, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Mungakha Community, Nyanje Spring
Team Leader Emmah kicks off training when community members observe social distancing
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 Mungakha, Kenya.
Trainer Protus installs a leaky tin handwashing station near the spring
We trained more than 15 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.
Emmah leads the 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.
Emmah explains the importance of rinsing clean hands with clean running water
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 woman washes her hands with soap
During training, we installed a new handwashing station with soap near the community’s spring, 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.
A young boy washes his hands
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.
November, 2019: Giving Update: Mungakha Community, Nyanje Spring
A year ago, your generous donation helped Mungakha Community in Kenya access clean water.
There’s an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water at Nyanje Spring in Mungakha. Month after month, their giving supports ongoing sustainability programs that help this community maintain access to safe, reliable water. Read more…
January, 2019: Mungakha Community, Nyanje Spring Project Complete
Mungakha Community is celebrating their new protected spring, so celebrate with them! Nyanje Spring has been transformed into a flowing source of 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 communicated with Mr. Okhaso, who had already shown so much leadership in rallying his neighbors to help our artisan construct the spring protection. He helped us invite community members to attend hygiene and sanitation training. Anyone who draws water from Nyanje Spring was invited.
Training was held under a shade tree near the spring, which fit our total number of 26 participants. Most of the people were women, who are traditionally seen as most responsible for water-related and sanitation-related chores around the household.
The participants were actively involved and the training was so interactive that the community members almost talked more than our trainers.
Several topics were covered during the training, such as personal and environmental hygiene; common local diseases and their prevention; care of the water point. The ten steps of handwashing were demonstrated, along with demonstrations for dental hygiene and water treatment.
Handwashing training
The training has helped community members understand the dangers of open defecation and also understand the importance of handling water carefully. For example, they had been using leaves to stuff in their container openings to avoid water spillage. They had also been storing drinking water for too long.
Water user committee members were voted on and then later trained on spring care, management, and other factors to make this water project sustainable. Mr. Patrick Okhaso, our contact person for this project, was elected as on of the leaders of this committee.
"After forming this water user community management committee, we will ensure we come up with an idea to invest into something that will help us earn some income from the spring. We will also have to be meeting so as to ensure we have unity through this spring protection," said Mr. Okhaso.
"The training we have received is sufficient enough to make us venture into something that will boost us."
Sanitation Platforms
All five sanitation platforms have been installed and make wonderful, easy to clean latrine floors. These five families are happy about this milestone of having a latrine of their own. We are continuing to encourage families to finish building walls and roofs over their new latrine floors.
Spring Protection
Construction at Nyanje Spring was successful and water is now flowing from the discharge pipe.
There were minimal challenges during the during this project. The only short delay was that the sand and stones the community had gathered for the artisan ended up not being enough, so people went back out to find more.
"This water is going to help us reduce the distance that we have been walking looking for clean water. Many people are going to use this water because it serves so many during dry season specifically," said Mr. Okhaso.
"This will help us come together and work as a team here."
The Process:
Community members provided all locally available construction materials (e.g bricks, wheelbarrows of clean sand, wheelbarrows of ballast, and gravel). Community members also hosted our artisans for the duration of construction.
Women carrying bricks from the top of the hill down to where the artisan is working.
The spring area was excavated with jembes, hoes, and spades 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 five days. With this spring now handed over to the community, we will continue to follow up with the water committee to make sure everything runs smoothly. They have already fenced in the spring area and planted grass to prevent erosion.
We will be making follow-up visits as we carry out The Water Promise, with the intention of ensuring that the project is sustainable and that the community has changed - not just the clean water and hygiene, but that their quality of life has changed for the better.
January, 2019: Mungakha Community, Nyanje Spring Project Underway
Dirty water from Nyanje Spring is making people in Mungakha 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!
Project Videos
Project Photos
Project Type
Springs are water sources that come from deep underground, where the water is filtered through natural layers until it is clean enough to drink. Once the water pushes through the surface of the Earth, however, outside elements like waste and runoff can contaminate the water quickly. We protect spring sources from contamination with a simple waterproof cement structure surrounding layers of clay, stone, and soil. This construction channels the spring’s water through a discharge pipe, making water collection easier, faster, and cleaner. Each spring protection also includes a chlorine dispenser at the waterpoint so community members can be assured that the water they are drinking is entirely safe. Learn more here!
Giving Update: Mungakha Community, Nyanje Spring
November, 2019
Your generous donation helped Mungakha Community in Kenya access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Patrick Okhaso. Thank you!
Keeping The Water Promise
There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Mungakha Community 2.
This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Mungakha Community 2 maintain access to safe, reliable water. Together, they keep The Water Promise.
We’re confident you'll love joining this world-changing group committed to sustainability!
"Since the protection of this spring, the cases of waterborne diseases have not been heard [of]. The project has also enabled us to come together as the water users. This began during the construction period when we were contributing the materials. The project has made it easier for us to get clean and safe water. The community is practicing the skills they got from the training in their homes and we have seen changes in latrine construction. I want to thank you for this water project."
These were the words of Patrick Okhaso, who serves as Chair of the water committee at Nyanje Spring. We heard from Patrick and several others as Field Officer Protus visited the spring to check up on it and interview community members about the spring's impact since its protection.
"Since the project was completed, I have experienced [a] clean environment around the water source," said 16-year-old Movix Ogalo, also interviewed by Protus.
"We are now able to save time when going to the spring to fetch water. In the past, we could wait for the water to settle to be clean after 2 or 3 people drawing. This was wasting our time and forcing some to draw the dirty water but today we get clean water no matter how many people get to the spring at once. We thank The Water Project for [the] great work."
Mzee Patrick Nyanje, spring landowner
Protus shared his reflections on the visit too:
"The community members can now access clean and safe drinking water at any time. In the past, immediately [once] the rain stopped they could not...get access to clean and safe water. This was because there was no cut-off drainage to prevent runoff water in contaminating [the] spring water...The water used to mix from [the] River Lusumu with the spring water, making it unsafe for consumption.
After the spring protection, the community is proud to get clean and safe drinking water...after the water samples were taken to the laboratory and tests done, the water turned out to be clean and safe for human consumption. The community members received the news with gladness and joy. They now no longer experience diarrhea they used to receive while drinking open and unprotected water...These people do not experience open defecation any more, this is evident with the number of newly constructed pit latrines around the community.
Charity Njilu
In the past before this water project, the access to [the] water source was very difficult because of [the] lack of staircases. After rains, the community members were always scared of fetching water for the fear of sustaining injuries from falling down. After the spring was protected they are not scared in any way...since the constructed staircases enable them to get water with ease.
Since the implementation of this project, tremendous changes have taken place in terms of sanitation. Several homes have now erected latrines and bathrooms. They no longer take their bath outside their houses in the open...Several homes now have clotheslines and also dishracks. This is a clear indication that the project has added so much value to their lives. When you walk around you see how they have tried to keep their environment clean by disposing of their dirt carefully in dumpsites. They have adhered to washing their hands before eating and also there are leaky tins around the latrines. They have maintained the environment around the spring. The water source is generally clean and maintained."
Navigating through intense dry spells, performing preventative maintenance, conducting quality repairs when needed and continuing to assist community leaders to manage water points are all normal parts of keeping projects sustainable. The Water Promise community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Mungakha Community 2 maintain access to safe, reliable water.
We’d love for you to join this world-changing group committed to sustainability.
The most impactful way to continue your support of Mungakha Community 2 – and hundreds of other places just like this – is by joining our community of monthly givers.
Your monthly giving will help provide clean water, every month... keeping The Water Promise.
Rehabilitation Project
