Project Status



Project Type:  Protected Spring

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 320 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - May 2019

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 02/02/2024

Project Features


Click icons to learn about each feature.



Mukhunya is located in a very remote area where there is little noise; the area is far from roads and the only noise heard comes from birds singing sweet melodies to the creator for giving them their daily bread. The community is full of trees, green fields, and flowers. The buildings are mostly made of mud floors, walls, and iron-sheeted roofs.

An average family is comprised of the father, mother, and children who unite to do various endeavors like farming and household duties. The people of Mukhunya primarily farm to make a living, planting their crops during specific rainy seasons to ensure a good harvest. Harvested crops are taken to the markets, the sale of which gives the family members an opportunity to plan for expenses like school fees and health bills.

These visits to the clinic drain families' resources. The children especially suffer from illnesses that are caused by drinking dirty water. One of the main water sources is Mwore Spring, where people get water for everything from drinking to watering garden vegetables.

The water at Mwore Spring has pooled to the surface and is completely open to contamination. The water looks very dirty with lots of particles and leaves rotting in the water. Most households try to avoid this dirty water by putting out buckets for rainwater, but during the dry spells, they are forced to use Mwore Spring.

"Lack of enough safe water has led to many of us wasting resources that could have been used to improve our living standards. When sickness strikes, the workforce is cut short, leading to poor production on our small farms," said Mrs. Edith Buraji.

"I believe that when we have safe water, our children will also stay healthy as well as remain long in school."

What we can do:

"Many people here do not know the benefit of washing hands with soap, thus we just wash our hands when we want to eat food only. Also, some of us still share latrines with neighbors who happen to be our close relatives which at times is very embarrassing when one has visitors and have to go to the neighbor. I do not have a latrine and it has really been very shameful for me and my family to always use my neighbor's latrine," admitted Mr. Buraji.

Training

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 at a minimum.

Sanitation Platforms

The latrines are regularly cleaned on a daily basis by sweeping with brooms and sprinkling ash in the pit to kill the smell. Considering the nature of these latrines, water cannot be used for cleaning because the floors are made of wood. If water is poured on there the floor will absorb it and start to rot - compromising safety.

On the final day of training, participants will select five families that should most benefit from new latrine floors.

Training will also inform the community and selected families on what they need to contribute to make this project a success. They must mobilize locally available materials, such as bricks, clean sand, hardcore, and ballast. The five families chosen for sanitation platforms must prepare by sinking a pit for the sanitation platforms to be placed over. All community members must work together to make sure that accommodations and food are always provided for the work teams.

Spring Protection

Protecting the spring will ensure that the water is safe, adequate and secure. Construction will keep surface runoff and other contaminants out of the water. With the community’s high involvement in the process, there should be a good sense of responsibility and ownership for the new clean water source.

Fetching water is predominantly a female role, done by both women and young girls. Protecting the spring and offering training and support will, therefore, help empower the female members of the community by giving them more time and efforts to engage and invest in income-generating activities.

Project Updates


May, 2019: Mukhunya Community, Mwore Spring Project Complete

Mukhunya Community is celebrating its new protected spring, so celebrate with them! Mwore 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 Mwore Spring was successful and water is now flowing from the discharge pipes. Protection of this spring has really touched the hearts of many, both young and old who would just come to witness what was being done. There was maximum support in terms of labor, so the artisan had an easy time working as whenever he needed anything, he was able to get it on time. Construction was done during a school vacation, so children played a huge role in ferrying materials to the site to help the artisan.

Children on school vacation helping the artisan by bringing bricks down to the construction site

"We thank God for using you people to come here and help us get clean water. The former area member of county assembly had promised to construct it for us but all was in vain because his term ended without him fulfilling his promise," said Mr. Khagoitsi.

"But for you, indeed actions speak louder than words because within a very short time you have caused bright smiles in the hearts of children and adults using this spring. We are now very certain that there is no more contamination in our water and diseases related to water have no place in our bodies."

The Process:

The construction process began by clearing the site through removal of topsoil as well as cutting long grass at the drainage area. Community members came in large numbers, including children, who joined hands together. Excavation work was done by digging in the proposed area through removal of all soil to the standard and opening up drainage outlets to allow water to flow freely around construction. During this stage, community members stopped to catch some small mudfish which are a delicacy in the community.

Gathered around the mudfish

Polythene was put down on the excavated area and wire mesh was put on top of it in preparation of concrete to be applied as the foundation. The use of cement, waterproof coating, ballast, and sand were mixed together to make a very strong foundation.

Brickwork started whereby the artisan took all of the required measurements of the spring structure before proceeding with the work. Construction of the superstructure continued with discharge pipes fixed in the brick wall. Stairs were built on one side of the spring to allow in and out movement by users.

Stone pitching along the lower part of the spring was done to prevent soil from eroding and blocking the outlet drainage. Finally, the plastering of the walls and the floor was done, and tiles were placed below the discharge pipes to keep the falling water from hitting the cement.

Mixing more cement to plaster the spring

The spring is then left for two days to undergo curing and hardening before being backfilled using stones. Polythene is stretched across the top and covered with soil to allow clean water to flow from the two pipes. Community members promised to dig cut-off drainage at the slope of the spring to divert surface water from entering the spring and to also plant grass on the spring box to prevent erosion.

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

While construction was ongoing, the field officer worked with community leaders to invite people to an important hygiene and sanitation training. Recruitment of participants was based on gender and age to ensure that information is shared across all community members.

Community members chose to meet us at the spring site where they sat on the grass. The training began well with participants showing lots of interest about the issues raised.

We handed out new notebooks and pens so that community members could jot down things as they learned them

Participants learned about:

– Leadership and governance for the spring committee

For this particular topic, participants were taught about how to effectively guide and direct others. The topic culminated in the election of three officials who were charged with the responsibility of coming up with rules to govern the activity around the spring. These rules can and probably will be amended by community members as they meet after training.

The topic was one of its kind because it created an avenue for community members who have never been given an opportunity to lead anything. It really made some of the participants feel recognized and important.

– Management and maintenance of the spring


– Family planning
– Personal hygiene, highlighting handwashing and dental hygiene

Community members learned that handwashing requires running water and soap. A basin of still water is not appropriate for rinsing hands, especially if it's passed amongst the family.

– Environmental hygiene

The facilitator explained to the participants that proper hygiene is an extremely important way to prevent many common local diseases which cause people to spend money buying medication rather than using it for development.

– Waterborne and water-related disease, along with water treatment methods

"I did not know the importance of having hygiene facilities, but now I am fully equipped with knowledge and skills on regularly practicing proper hygiene to prevent diseases caused by poor hygiene, as well as having sound sanitation to help promote the same," said Mr. Buraji.

Thank You for making all of this possible!




April, 2019: Mukhunya Community, Mwore Spring Project Underway

Dirty water from Mwore Spring is making people in Mukhunya Community sick. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to solve this issue by building 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 news of success!




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: Mukhunya Community, Mwore Spring

February, 2021

A year ago, your generous donation helped Mukhunya Community in Kenya access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Rose. Thank you!

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Mukhunya Community.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Mukhunya Community 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!

"Before the project, it was very hazardous as we used to fetch water on the spring's surface, which affected our health and contributed to the high level of poverty as many people used to seek medication, thus affecting them economically."

"Now, it's very easy to access water as we fetch through the pipe and also the surrounding area is protected, thus ensuring safe and clean water is always available."

"As a pupil, I take a shorter time fetching water compared to the past when I used to take much time accessing water, and this gives me much time to concentrate on my studies."


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 Mukhunya Community 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 Mukhunya Community – 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.


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