Project Status



Project Type:  Protected Spring

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 210 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Feb 2020

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 08/03/2024

Project Features


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A typical morning in Jivovoli Community begins with milking cows, cleaning, preparing children for school, cooking breakfast, and rushing to Magumba Spring to get water.

The spring is in a place that is easily accessible with good terrain, therefore it is very easy for people to reach the water source. Water is gathered by putting containers under an improvised pipe until they get half-filled. People then have to use a small cup to fill up their container the rest of the way.

Getting to the spring and filling up a container of water may be easy, but this water is not safe for consumption. It is visibly dirty since the water pools at the end of the spring which then leaves it open to all sorts of contamination.

People that fetch water from this point have experienced serious diarrhea in the past and the problem is believed to have resulted from drinking contaminated water from Magumba Spring. Community members must then spend money on treatment for the illnesses caused by drinking the water. In the end, people here waste a lot of time and money because of the dirty water from this spring.

"We have longed for this spring to be protected but we continued using the water in its state because we could not afford money for protecting it," said Josphat Amugata, a farmer who relies on the spring to meet his family's needs.

Children miss classes and adults sometimes stay at home due to infections caused by drinking water from the spring. When children miss lessons it leads to poor performance in examinations.

Most people in Jivovoli village are small-scale farmers who grow food crops for their own consumption and a good number of homes have planted tea on their small farms for sale. The village also has a few commercial motorcyclists and rickshaw drivers who earn wages taxiing people around the area.

Jivovoli is a rural area where the voices of community members chatting as they go about their daily activities are heard throughout. The area has trees and crops in farms, and most of the buildings are built with mud walls and roofs made of iron sheets.

On days when everyone is healthy, the adults here will proceed with their mornings by going to work on their farms or pick tea for the nearby Mudete Tea Factory. The children run to school to avoid getting there late and being punished by teachers.

Women usually have to ensure that all domestic chores are carried out and this includes preparing meals like lunch which men and school children come back to eat at lunchtime. Mothers with babies have to tie them on their backs and move around doing all of their daily work with children on their backs.

What we can do:

Spring Protection

Protecting the spring will help provide access to cleaner and safer water. 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 task carried out by women and young girls. Protecting the spring and offering training and support will, therefore, help empower the female members of the community by freeing up more of their time and energy to engage and invest in income-generating activities.

Training

Community members will attend hygiene and sanitation training for at least 2 days. This training will ensure participants have the knowledge they need about healthy practices and their importance.

The facilitator plans to use Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST), Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), 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 is consumed. We will also emphasize the importance of handwashing.

Training will result in the formation of a committee that will oversee the operations and maintenance of 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 channels. The fence will keep out destructive animals, and the drainage will keep the area’s mosquito population at a minimum.

Sanitation Platforms

On the final day of training, participants will select 5 families that should benefit from new concrete latrine floors. Training will inform the community and selected families on what they need to contribute to make this project a success. They must mobilize locally available materials, including bricks, clean sand, and gravel. The 5 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


May, 2020: COVID-19 Prevention Training Update at Jivovoli Community, Magumba 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 Jivovoli, Kenya.

We trained more than 16 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.




February, 2020: Jivovoli Community, Magumba Spring Project Complete!

Jivovoli Community now has access to clean water! Magumba Spring has been transformed into a flowing source of water thanks to your donation. We protected the spring, constructed 5 sanitation platforms for different households in the community, and we trained the community on improved sanitation and hygiene practices.

Clean water flows at Magumba Spring

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.

Artisan begins brickwork on spring 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.

Artisan works on headwall plaster

The source area was filled up with clean stones and sand and covered with a thick plastic tarp to prevent potential sources of contamination. Then soil was layered on top of the tarp so that community members could transplant grass to prevent erosion. Finally, the collection area was fenced in. It took about 2 weeks of patience for the concrete to dry.

Community members plant grass over the spring box

As soon as it was ready, people got the okay from our field officers to begin fetching clean water. We celebrated this momentous occasion directly following training.

"We thank God for the gift we have now, and I think now our generation will enjoy clean safe water and this will reduce the chances of getting waterborne diseases and even our children will no longer be absent due to lack of water," said John Likhayo, a farmer in the community.

Celebrating the new spring

"We are very grateful for your organization to bring such a project to our community," said community member Tabitha Undisa.

Celebrating the spring

"We were accessing water from this point but the hygiene of the place was poorly maintained. Since we have learned a lot from you, we promise to enhance the sustainability of the project for the betterment of our lives. We really thank God for you."

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.

Proud new sanitation platform owner

New Knowledge

Community member Josphat Amuganda helped organize the training in coordination with our team. Together we found the community’s preferred date for training while considering other events in the community calendar such as the agricultural season and expected gatherings.

20 people attended training, which was a good turnout and what we were expecting. The weather was cold and cloudy, and we thought it might rain. We decided to meet in the compound of one of the participants since the spring area was too wet to be comfortable for an extended time. The level of participation was good. Most attendees could answer any question posed to them and asked for clarification when needed.

A woman volunteers to demonstrate toothbrushing at training

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 discussed water treatment methods, personal care like handwashing, environmental hygiene, hygiene promotion, and many other things.

While discussing proper water handling techniques that keep water clean from fetching it through to consuming it, one woman said she uses leaves to cover her water container to prevent it from splashing on her while walking home. The facilitator then illustrated the importance of using covers instead of leaves, emphasizing that even leaves can contaminate the water since one does not know what else has touched the leaves such as birds or insects.

Handwashing practice at training

During the operation and maintenance session, our team stressed the importance of fencing in the backfilled area and planting grass there to prevent erosion. On hearing this, one of the participants pointed out that we had not brought the grass or the poles. The facilitator acknowledged this fact, responding that if the community agreed to the importance of this advice, they could provide such materials since they are readily at hand in the community. The participants agreed with this and they brought the grass and poles for fencing when the backfilling was later completed.

A woman enjoying the spring water

One community member expressed their thanks while referring to the specific training session on income-generating activities.

"The community really appreciates this project. This is a new dawn to life and we thank God for the great work. Water is life and now we are going to change economically too; this will reduce the high rate of poverty and absenteeism among our children."

Thank you for making all of this possible!




January, 2020: Jivovoli Community, Magumba Spring Project Underway!

Dirty water from Magumba Spring is making people in Jivovoli 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 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: Jivovoli Community, Magumba Spring

February, 2021

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

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Jivovoli Community 3.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Jivovoli Community 3 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, this place was full of water and accessibility to the spring was not easy."

"Also, I had constant coughs every time I drank water from the spring directly."

"It's now enjoyable and easy to access water."

"Coughs are also a thing of the past and we thank God for you and your families that God may bless you indeed."


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 Jivovoli Community 3 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 Jivovoli Community 3 – 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.


Contributors

Promise Tea - promisebeverages.com
NJE's "Water Our World" Campaign
2 individual donor(s)