Project Status



Project Type:  Protected Spring

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 140 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Sep 2021

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 02/03/2024

Project Features


Click icons to learn about each feature.



The roads leading to Nangurunya village are weathered and take time to undergo maintenance, hence making the journey here bumpy. The area receives adequate rainfall favoring the growth of different types of crops like maize and sugarcane which make the area quite green. Community members here are peasant farmers who grow different types of crops on a small scale mainly for consumption. But, in the instance that they have surpluses, they take them for sale or exchange it for what one does not have with their neighbors. The National Grid power line that runs from Jinja in Uganda to the capital city of Nairobi in Kenya passes through this area, making it unique.

In Nangurunya it is mostly during the dry season of the year when community members face a water crisis. During these periods, each community member has to adjust their daily schedule in order to meet the day's targets. Women and children have to wake up very early earch morning, around 6:00 am, to go and fetch water for drinking and for household chores.

For 140 people in Nangurunya, they depend on unprotected Robert Musali Spring year-round, and especially during the dry season. The spring is known for its year-round reliability, but, unfortunately, also for its poor state. The water is exposed to agents of contamination, leaving community members prone to waterborne and water-related diseases after consuming the spring's water.

The spring water is typically cloudy because it is fetched or accessed by so many community members using different types of scooping containers throughout the day. Some who come to fetch water are children who do not scoop with care, hence contaminating water even further with extra mud and sand. Fetching water from this water point is very tiresome and hectic because one has to take time scooping the water little by little to avoid dirtying it while others wait and queue.

"We waste a lot of our precious time when fetching water here and children like me are given last priority to fetch water when elder ones are also queueing for water because they think we might make the water dirtier in the process of scooping," said young Abel.

"Currently, a lot of community members rely on this sole water source after all shallow wells in the area dried up. So, you have to wake up very early in the morning to avoid long queues but surprisingly you may wake up that very early only to find out others have already been at the water point. So there is no other option than remaining in queue," explained Agnes Khuyanga, who works as a teacher in the area.

Time lost at the spring each day delays adults' work and activity schedules and makes children late for school. When people contract waterborne diseases from drinking the spring's contaminated water, they lose more time as they try to recover while draining their financial resources paying for medicine.

What We Can Do:

Spring Protection

Protecting the spring will help provide access to cleaner and safer water and reduce the time people have to spend to fetch it. 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 a task predominantly 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 and their education.

Training on Health, Hygiene, COVID-19, and More

To hold trainings during the pandemic, we work closely with both community leaders and the local government to approve small groups to attend training. We ask community leaders to invite a select yet representative group of people to attend training who will then act as ambassadors to the rest of the community to share what they learn. We also communicate our expectations of physical distancing and wearing masks for all who choose to attend.

The training will focus on improved hygiene, health, and sanitation habits in this community. We will also have a dedicated session on COVID-19 symptoms, transmission routes, and prevention best practices.

With the community’s input, we will identify key leverage points where they can alter their practices at the personal, household, and community levels to affect change. This training will help to ensure participants have the knowledge they need about healthy practices and their importance to make the most of their water point as soon as water is flowing.

Our team of facilitators will use a variety of methods to train community members. Some of these methods include participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation, asset-based community development, group discussions, handouts, and demonstrations at the spring.

One of the most important issues 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 and the community strongly believe that all of these components will work together to improve living standards here, which will help to unlock the potential for these community members to live better, healthier lives.

We will then conduct a small series of follow-up trainings before transitioning to our regularly scheduled support visits throughout the year.

Training will result in the formation of a water user committee, elected by their peers, that will oversee the operations and maintenance of the spring. The committee 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 unwanted waste, and the drainage will keep the area’s mosquito population at a minimum.

Project Updates


September, 2021: Robert Musali Spring Project Complete!

Nangurunya Community now has access to clean water! We transformed Robert Musali Spring into a flowing source of water, thanks to your donation. Our team protected the spring and trained the community on improved sanitation and hygiene practices, including COVID-19 prevention.

"Reliability of the water will impact my life positively. I will be able to reduce inadequate food, especially during the dry season. I will be able to do irrigation because water is available all the time," said Robert Musali, a local farmer and the spring's namesake.

Children were just as excited as the adults about the new water point.

Joy, an 11-year-old student, shared, "My goal is to improve performance in my studies. Since I will be accessing clean water, I will never miss going to school because of water-borne and water-related diseases."

Preparing for Spring Protection

Community members worked together to source and carry all locally available construction materials to the spring. These included bricks, sand, stones, and fencing poles. Some people also chiseled away at large rocks to break them down into gravel. Because people have to carry most items by hand, the materials collection process can take anywhere from a few weeks to months.

When the community members had prepared everything, we sent a lorry to the community to deliver the rest of the construction materials, including the cement, plastic tarps, and hardware. Then, our artisan and field officers deployed to the spring to begin work. Individual households provided meals throughout each day to sustain the work team.

From Open Source to Protected Spring: A Step-by-Step Process

At last, it was time to dig in at the spring! Locals lent their strength to the artisans each day to help with the manual labor. First, we cleared and excavated the spring area. Next, we dug a drainage channel below the spring and several surface runoff diversion channels above and around the spring. These help to divert environmental contaminants carried by the rains away from the spring.

To ensure community members could still fetch water throughout the construction process, we also dug temporary diversion channels from the spring's eye around the construction site. This allowed water to flow without severely disrupting community members' water needs or the construction work.

Excavation created space for setting the spring's foundation, which is made of thick plastic tarp, wire mesh, concrete, and waterproof cement. After setting the base, we started brickwork to build the headwall, wing walls, and stairs.

Next, we began one of the most crucial spring protection steps to ensure a fully functional water point: setting the discharge pipe. The discharge pipe has to be low enough in the headwall so that the water level inside never rises above the spring's eye, yet high enough to leave eighteen to twenty inches between the pipe and the spring floor. This allows room for the average jerrycan (a 20-liter container) to sit beneath the pipe without making contact.

If we place the discharge pipe too high above the spring's eye, too much backpressure could force the flow to emerge elsewhere. Too low, and community members would not be able to access the water easily. We embedded the pipe using clay (or mortar when clay is in short supply) and placed it at an incline to ensure water flows in the right direction.

In coordination with brickwork, we pitched medium to large stones on both sides of the spring's drainage channel. We then cemented and plastered each stone group into place, forming the rub walls. This helps discourage people and animals from standing in that area, which could cause soil erosion and thus a clogged drainage area.

We then turned to cementing and plastering both sides of the headwall and wing walls. These finishing layers reinforce the brickwork and prevent water in the reservoir from seeping through the walls. In turn, enough pressure builds in the reservoir box to push water out through the discharge pipe.

As the headwall and wing walls were curing, we cemented and plastered the stairs and installed four tiles beneath the discharge pipe. The tiles protect the concrete from the falling water's erosive force while beautifying the spring and facilitating easy cleaning of the spring floor.

We transitioned to the final stages of construction with the tiles in place - backfilling the reservoir box. First, we cleared the collection box of any debris that may have fallen in since its construction, such as dead leaves or other items. Then we redirected the temporary diversion channels back into the reservoir box, channeling water into this area for the first time. We closed off all of the other exits to start forcing the water through the discharge pipe only.

With much help from the community, we filled up the reservoir area with the clean and large stones they gathered, arranging them in layers like a well-fitting puzzle. We covered the rocks with a thick plastic tarp to minimize potential contamination sources from aboveground, followed by a layer of soil. We piled enough dirt on top to create a slight mound to compensate for the backfill's future settlement.

Community members transplanted grass onto the backfilled soil to help prevent erosion. Finally, the collection area was fenced to discourage any person or animal from walking on it since compaction can lead to disturbances in the backfill layers and potentially compromise water quality.

The completed spring.

The entire construction process took about two weeks of work and patience to allow the cement and plaster to finish curing. As soon as it was ready, people got the okay from our field officers to fetch water. We officially handed over the spring to mark the community's ownership of the water point. Happiness, thanksgiving, and appreciation were the order of the day, flowing in all directions.

Celebrating clean, safe water!

There was no formal celebration scheduled after the project completion because the field officer handed over the project immediately to the community members because they had no alternative water point.

Training on Health, Hygiene, COVID-19, and More

Due to the ongoing challenges and restrictions amidst the pandemic, we worked with local leaders and the national Ministry of Health to gain approval for a small group training about health, hygiene, and COVID-19 prevention.

Together with the community, we found their preferred date for training while considering other community calendar events, such as the agricultural season and social events. We requested a representative group of community members to attend training to relay the information learned to the rest of their family and friends.

When the day arrived, facilitators Nelly Chebet, Amos Emisiko, and Victor Musemi deployed to the site to lead the event. Fifteen people attended the training, including Village health volunteers.

We held the training under a shade tree on the homestead of Robert Musali, the spring's namesake. Due to the very hot weather, the participants moved around to seek refuge from the hot sun rays.

Taking notes during training.

Perhaps the most crucial topic of the day was our session on COVID-19 prevention and control. Due to the rampant spread of misinformation about COVID-19, we dedicated time to a question and answer session to help debunk rumors about the virus and provide extra information where needed.

Learning how to make soap.

We covered several other topics, including community participation in the project; leadership and governance; personal and environmental hygiene; water handling and treatment; operation and maintenance of the spring; dental hygiene; the ten steps of handwashing; and how to make and use a tippy tap and leaky tin. In addition, we held an election for the newly formed water user committee leaders during the leadership and governance session.

We also brainstormed income-generating activities that community members can use to start a group savings account for any future minor repairs to the spring and a cooperative lending group to enable members to develop small businesses.

Practicing dental hygiene.

"The knowledge gained will impact me positively, especially in hygiene and sanitation. I will no longer be suffering from diseases such as malaria and typhoid because of the unclean food, water, or environment," said Joy B.

When an issue arises concerning the spring, the water user committee is equipped with the necessary skills to rectify the problem and ensure the water point works appropriately. However, if the issue is beyond their capabilities, they can contact our field officers to assist them. Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our ongoing monitoring and maintenance program.

Thank you for making all of this possible!




July, 2021: Robert Musali Spring Project Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Nangurunya Community drains people’s time, energy, and health. Thanks to your generosity, we’re working to install a clean water point and much more.

Get to know this community through the introduction 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!


A Year Later: "I am not falling sick anymore!"

September, 2022

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

Keeping The Water Promise

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

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Nangurunya 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!

The people of Nangurunya used to struggle collecting foul, cloudy water from Robert Musali Spring. The area was slippery and unstable, and the water made people sick.

"The water was really dirty, and I could get sick from time to time," said 13-year-old Mark A. "I used to fall when getting to the water point due to it’s unprotected nature it was very slippery."

But a year since the spring's protection, community members no longer have to worry about water.

"This water has really helped me such that I am not falling sick anymore," Mark continued. "I am able to fetch water easily without falling or even contaminating the water itself. It has really reduced the time I spend looking for clean and safe water. I have improved in my studies since I have enough time to study."


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 Nangurunya 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 Nangurunya 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.


Contributors

Hey Dewy