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 Jonathan Mutai, Community Engagement Officer
Jonathan Mutahi was born and raised in the Rift Valley region of Kenya, a place known for its breathtaking landscape and vibrant culture. From a young age, he developed a passion for reading and traveling places, which sparked curiosity about different cultures and ways of life around the world. After completing a diploma in business management from Moi University, Jonathan embarked on a career journey in 2017 with WEWASAFO. Through his role, he has contributed to ensuring clean and sustainable water for marginalized members of communities in Western Kenya. Having grown up with similar water and sanitation challenges, he always feels contented seeing children and women drawing water from a water project achieved courtesy of his efforts of vetting, writing a proposal, mobilizing locally available materials, supervising the project, and finally, handing the project over to them when it is functional. Jonathan indulges in his love for literature outside of his professional life, often immersing himself in diverse genres and authors. He also cherishes the opportunity to travel, explore new destinations, and gain firsthand experiences that enrich his worldview. Jonathan remains dedicated to positively impacting communities and schools in Western Kenya as far as water sanitation and hygiene are concerned.
Jonathan has been a Community Engagement Officer since 2017, with WeWaSaFo, The Water Project's trusted partner in our Western Kenya WaSH Program.
There was a cloudless sky with bright sunshine on the day of our first visit to Ikonyero Community. Ikonyero is a rural area, and the environment is so peaceful that only the mooing of cows can be heard. The community members make a living by farming crops like maize, bananas, cassava, and sugarcane. All of the farms here make the environment so green, and it's a beautiful place to live.
However, the 200 people living in this part of Ikonyero don't have access to clean water. Their main water source is Amkongo Spring, where water has come up out of the ground and pooled in a grassy area. People bring a small jug along with their water container since the water is shallow here. They balance on a stone, dunking their jug continuously to bail water until they've gotten enough into their larger container.
This water is totally open to all types of contamination, and even animals are free to come and go when they're thirsty. We also spotted frogs jumping in and out of the spring. This water is so dangerous for drinking that some women walk all the way to other villages to find a safer source of water. Finding clean water is tiresome and cuts into other important farming activities.
When a community member treat water from the spring when they have access to chlorine in the nearby dispenser or enough firewood to boil the dirty water. But that doesn't always happen, and community members are suffering from complications after drinking this dirty water. A household's savings are often exhausted when a family member needs treatment for typhoid or another waterborne illness. Whether the water comes from Amkongo Spring or another source in a neighboring community, fetching water is a long, tiring process for women and children.
What we can do:
Amkongo Spring is not far from Jesse Spring, which we already protected. During construction of Jesse Spring, a community member drawing water from Amkongo Spring swung by to see what was going on. There, he was impressed by the great work the artisan had done and requested the artisan to visit their spring to see if it qualifies for protection. Upon reaching the water source, the artisan found the spring to be viable and recommended we visit again for ourselves.
Spring Protection
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.
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. There will be stairs down to the collection point and a pipe that can easily fill water containers. 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.
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
Only a little over half of the households using Amkongo Spring have a private place to use the bathroom. A lot of the latrines we observed are in a bad state, though. The walls don't look stable and many of the floors are made of wooden slats suspended over the pit. People avoid rinsing their latrine floors with water because they're afraid that the water will rot away the wood, thus putting users in danger of falling into the pit.
"Hygiene and sanitation here are wanting. The available pit latrine we have are in poor conditions as cleanliness is not done on a regular basis because of the material used in setting the base of these pit latrines. Blessing us with five sanitation platforms will be of great improvement on hygiene and sanitation to us," said Gladys.
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.
Project Updates
August, 2020: Through Their Eyes: COVID-19 Chronicles with Abigail Amukoto
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.
Our team recently visited Ikonyero to conduct a COVID-19 prevention training (read more about it below!) and monitor their water point, Amkongo Spring. 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.
Abigail Amukoto
It was during this most recent visit that Abigail Amukoto shared her story of how the coronavirus has impacted her life. As Chair of the spring's water user committee, a farmer, and a mother, Abigail had a lot of concerns on her mind regarding the pandemic when we spoke with her.
Abigail shows 2 of her new norms: putting on a mask and washing her hands before leaving and returning home.
Training Officer Olivia Bomji Chebet met Abigial outside her home to conduct the interview. Both Olivia and Abigail observed social distancing and other precautions throughout the visit to ensure their health and safety. The following is Abigail's story, in her own words.
Abigail fetches water at Amkongo Spring.
"Since the installation of the spring, we now fetch clean water that is not contaminated. The children can now fetch water freely without fear of falling in or fetching dirty water. It has helped a lot because we wash hands a lot during this pandemic. Having enough water has changed our lives for the better.
Now, we keep one-meter distance when fetching water at the spring. We ensure that we fetch enough water before the curfew starts. We no longer talk freely with our families, neighbors, and friends as we used to do.
Everyone practices social distancing at the spring, where our team's COVID-19 prevention reminders chart still hangs on the fence from our first sensitization training there.
We have ensured that every household has a handwashing station. We no longer visit each other but we have ensured that we wear masks. We acquired knowledge on mask making during the training - though I didn't make mine - but at least I have the skills to now.
The children no longer go to school and this has made life expensive because providing meals for the day is not easy. Being a farmer, I no longer sell my cereals because there are no customers to buy them, unlike before, so life has changed completely.
Abigail washes her hands with soap and clean water from Amkongo Spring using the handwashing station she set up outside her home.
The standard of living has changed and almost everything is expensive. I am psychologically drained because of the fear of contracting the disease and how my family will be sustained until the pandemic is over.
I was happy about the curfew being pushed to start at 9:00 pm instead of 7:00 pm because it will allow those with businesses to sell more. We are praying that the government will add more time to worship from 1 hour to 3 hours. This will give us enough time to pray, too."
Abigail wearing her mask.
When asked where she receives information about COVID-19, Abigail listed the radio, television, newspaper, our team's sensitization training.
"The most helpful part [of training] was handwashing and mask-making. I also learned that coughing on my hands is not acceptable or hygienic."
October, 2019: Ikonyero Community, Amkongo Spring Complete!
Ikonyero Community now has access to clean water! Amkongo Spring has been transformed into a flowing source of water thanks to your donation. We protected the spring, provided 5 sanitation platforms to different households in the community, and we trained the community on improved sanitation and hygiene practices.
Excited community members and field officers line up at the newly completed Amkongo Spring to fetch clean water
Construction of Amkongo Spring was like a dream to the community members, our field officers reported. Mr. Edward Adriano Twiti is an old man who attested that since he was born, he has been consuming water from this water source but said that it has only been God's will that he is alive today through challenges of waterborne and water-related diseases attached to the water point.
Initially, the water point was an open source and was exposed to agents of contamination from run-off rainwater. Besides that, the water point was full of green algae and water weeds that at the time could make it difficult to draw water from this water source. Not to mention the infestation of frogs which could dirty water while trying to hide under the water weeds. All these problems and challenges experienced before have been curbed through the protection of the spring. The community members are very happy and appreciative of the project!
Spring Protection
Community members provided all locally available construction materials, including bricks, wheelbarrows of clean sand, stones, and fencing poles. Accommodations and meals were provided for the artisan, too.
The Process
Women and men lent their strength to the artisan to help him with manual labor. The spring area was excavated to create space for setting the foundation of thick plastic tarp, 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.
Brickwork begins on top of the spring's foundation
As the wing walls and headwall were curing, 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.
Working on the stairs and the rub wall
The source area was filled up with clean stones and sand and covered with a thick plastic tarp to prevent potential sources of contamination. The community members of this spring were so cooperative. This made the work run smoothly without any delays or challenges. It took about 2 weeks of patience for the concrete to dry.
Adding stones to the backfilled area of the spring; these will help filter the water
As soon as it was ready, people got the okay from our field officers to begin fetching clean water. We met them there to celebrate this momentous occasion.
"We were not imagining after all this time our water source would be constructed like this. We are so happy and thankful to you people for considering our spring for protection. May our almighty Father reward you abundantly. The water from this spring now looks so clean. We are very optimistic that there will no longer be waterborne diseases attached to this water point after all this good work and hygiene [training] done here," said Abigeal Caspa, a farmer in Ikonyero who was also one of the champions behind organing her community's training.
Sanitation Platforms
All 5 sanitation platforms have been installed. These 5 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.
Sanitation platform construction
Though the sanitation platforms were not enough to be given to every community member, the community was very happy saying that cleanliness of the pit latrines will be so easy, unlike those made of wooden logs. The idea of the mobile platform was very much welcomed by the community members, saying it is so economical because once the pit latrine is full, the slab can be shifted to another new pit latrine.
Proud new sanitation platform owner
New Knowledge
Gladys Munyalo Amkongo, Wycliffe Amkongo, and Abigael Caspa were tasked with organizing the training. They gave us the community’s preferred date for training, for they were very much aware of the community calendar when it comes to planting season and other big events.
Group work during training
Some 14 people attended training, which was lower than expected. This was because of a funeral that ended up being the same day, where most of the community members had gone to assist the bereaved family in sending off their beloved one.
We held training at Mr. Adriano Twiti's homestead under the shade of trees. The participants were jovial and attentive throughout the training session. They gave their opinions, asked questions, and sought clarification on what they did not understand. They were so involved, especially when it came to demonstrations.
Handwashing demonstration
We covered several topics including leadership and governance; operation and maintenance of the spring; healthcare; family planning; immunizations; and the prevention and spread of disease. We also covered water treatment methods, personal care like handwashing, environmental hygiene, hygiene promotion, and many other things.
During the training, the water committee was elected to oversee and future issues and management of the spring. They were to come up with rules and regulations to govern their spring. Besides that, they were to start income-generating activities to enable them to maintain their spring when minor repairs are needed to be done, understanding that our tea of field officers would be on call for any major problems that might come up.
While covering spring maintenance, we discussed ways to ensure the longevity of the site. This included things like not doing laundry directly at the site since some detergents can wear away the plaster. We also warned against planting certain tree species nearby like eucalyptus which can drastically affect the water table. The topic was made special in that though it is hard to convince community members to cut down those trees, after understanding the threat they posed to the water source they decided to fell 3 eucalyptus trees next to the spring.
Site management training
Hygiene at different levels, such as personal, homestead, and environmental, was another topic that was so interesting. The participants were most involved in this topic because it was full of hands-on demonstrations. These included the 10 steps of proper handwashing with soap, proper toothbrushing, and water treatment. The solar disinfectant method of water treatment - where you heat your water using the sun to a temperature that kills bacteria - was something new to the participants. They welcomed the method and promised to adopt it immediately because it is the most economical method for treatment.
Posing with the new spring
"Indeed, learning can't end," said 37-year-old teacher Mrs. Florence Mbwanga after completing the training with her community.
"I have been teaching for a long period of time, but it is [not until] this day that I learned the proper way of handwashing and toothbrushing. For me, I have been just washing my hands and brushing my teeth without any procedure. Today's training will assist us to change our habit of doing things for good health [in the] long run."
Thank you for making all of this possible!
September, 2019: Ikonyero Community, Amkongo Spring Project Underway!
Dirty water from Amkongo Spring is making people in Ikonyero sick. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install 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 with news of success!
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: Ikonyero Community, Amkongo Spring
February, 2021
A year ago, your generous donation helped Ikonyero Community in Kenya access clean water – creating a life-changing moment for Reagan. Thank you!
Keeping The Water Promise
There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Ikonyero Community 2.
This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Ikonyero 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!
"The path to the spring used to be slippery, and it was dangerous for us to come to the spring, but we had no choice but to help our mums fetch water."
"The spring had frogs and crabs which used to dirty the water. As a result, we would waste a lot of time at the spring waiting for the water to settle before we could fetch it."
"Now, the pipe was installed to make it faster for us to fetch water, and stairs were put near the spring to make it easy to access the spring."
"I enjoy making several trips to the spring and still having time to play and study. My siblings and I no longer suffer from waterborne and water-related diseases like typhoid, diarrhea, and malaria."
"Since water from the spring is clean, I make sure that I maintain personal and hand hygiene which has really improved our health."
"Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in our country, we always make sure that we wash our hands frequently using clean water from the spring."
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 Ikonyero 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 Ikonyero 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
