May, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Bukhaywa Community, Asumani 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.

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 Bukhaywa, Kenya.

We trained more than 15 people on the symptoms, transmission routes, and prevention of COVID-19. Before there were any reported cases in the area, we worked with trusted community leaders and the Water User Committee to gather community members for the training.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

May, 2019: Bukhaywa Community, Asumani Spring Project Complete

Bukhaywa Community is celebrating its new protected spring, so celebrate with them! Asumani Spring has been transformed into a flowing, safe 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.

Spring Protection

Construction at Asumani Spring was successful and water is now flowing from the discharge pipe.

The community members are very happy with the project. This is going to decrease waterborne diseases that were always the families here. Before the project, community members even tried to improvise a pipe for themselves and covered the source with mud and planted grass thinking that they were protecting their water from contamination. It was not successful and they continued to suffer for a very long time.

This was an answered prayer. The women we met at the spring said the money they have been spending treating their family members will be saved and used to do more productive things.

"Wow! At long last, our spring has been protected and we are now accessing clean and safe water for drinking," said Mr. Luteyo.

The Process:

The community members living around Asumani Spring were very active in the project and were always there to support the artisan. They worked as a team and assisted in bringing materials to the construction site. They also kept a close eye on the artisan's work and always made sure he had what he needed.

Mixing cement

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.

Progress on the stairs while plastering the rest of the spring

The ceramic tiles installed under the discharge pipe protect the concrete from the erosive force of the falling water and beautify 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 concrete dried over the course of five days, during which a community member wetted the concrete to make sure it would dry without cracking. The source area was filled up with clean stones and sand and covered with a polyethylene membrane to eliminate any potential sources of contamination.

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 will continue to encourage them to finish building walls and roofs over their new latrine floors as we visit for monitoring and evaluation.

New Knowledge

Pastor Julius Shiamala was our main contact person in Bukhaywa. The day hardware materials were being transported to the site, we called and told him that training goes hand in hand with the project construction. He set a date for us and recruited community members to attend.

The attendance was more than what we expected because of the ongoing excitement about the spring protection. People said that this was an answered prayer after very many empty promises from different leaders.

The weather was sunny but that did not affect the training since the meeting point was in the shade at someone's home.

Participants learned about:

– Leadership and governance for the spring committee

Community members voted on people to head up a spring committee to oversee the management and maintenance of the spring.

– Management and maintenance of the spring

We talked about various ways that people can take care of their spring protection. Participants eagerly shared their own idea about this, too. They said the spring has to be fenced to stop animals from crossing through the area. They will make sure that the area is kept clean and they will not allow children to play there. Women will not stay at the spring to do their laundry but will carry the water back home.

The committee has scheduled a day for the community members to get together and build the protective fence around the spring.

– Family planning
– Waterborne and water-related disease, along with water treatment methods
– Personal hygiene, including handwashing

Participants learned that dunking hands in a bowl of water is not a good way to clean up, especially if the bowl is shared between multiple people. Instead, running water and soap need to be used each time.

– Dental hygiene

Participants seemed to get a kick out of seeing the trainer user a pink toothbrush!

Thank You for making all of this possible!

March, 2019: Bukhaywa Community, Asumani Spring Project Underway

Dirty water from Asumani Spring is making people in Bukhaywa Community sick. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to build a clean water point 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 again with exciting news of clean water flowing here!