April, 2021: Mulunda Spring Project Complete!

Elwichi Community now has access to clean water! We transformed Mulunda 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.

"The impact is visible just from this point. Everyone is happy and I too am glad. I drink from this source and I have not been 100% sure if the water was safe for consumption. Now it is protected, a lot of waterborne diseases will be prevented and no leaves will fall and float on the water again," said Dora Musotsi, the spring's elected Secretary and the driving force behind her community's engagement with our team to accomplish this project.

"I am able to provide safe water for my family. The water point being protected, to me, is a goal met and I will continue to flourish hygienically."

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

"I can carry my own drinking water to school to drink when I feel like. I can share with my friends with confidence that it is coming from a safe source and is safe for consumption," said young Victor.

"It is easy to fetch water and take it home, unlike other days when we had to queue and fetch while using our jugs. Time will be well-utilized and I will have some time for general cleaning and homework."

Preparing for Spring Protection

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

When everything was prepared, 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! Women and men lent their strength to the artisan each day to help with the manual labor. First, we cleared and excavated the spring area. 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 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 the discharge pipe were placed 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 the clay is in short supply) and placed it at a slight 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. These help to discourage people and animals from trying to stand on that area, which could cause soil erosion and thus a clogged drainage area.

With brickwork and stone pitching completed, we 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 stones with a thick plastic tarp to minimize potential contamination sources from aboveground, followed by a layer of soil. We piled enough soil 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 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 directly following training to mark the community's ownership of the water point. Happiness, thanksgiving, and appreciation were the order of the day flowing in all directions.

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, who will relay the information learned to the rest of their family and friends.

When the day arrived facilitators Amos Emisiko and Ian Nakitare deployed to the site to lead the event. Nineteen people attended the training, including the local Village Health Volunteer. We held the training under some Cyprus trees at the home of Madam Dora, who helped mobilize people to attend the event. The trees provided a cool and conducive environment for the training as the day was very hot and sunny.

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.

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. 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 can be used to start a community savings account for any future minor repairs to the spring and a cooperative lending group to enable members to develop small businesses.

Operation and maintenance of the spring was the most memorable session. During this topic, a kid from the neighborhood came with a piece of sugarcane near the spring without the knowledge that it went against the environmental hygiene lesson that teaches keeping food waste away from the water source. One of the community members in charge of cleaning the spring shouted at her like a roaring lioness! The kid looked sorry and ran away without even wanting to know who was talking, giving all of the adults a chuckle.

The handwashing demonstration was another special moment. The facilitator instructed the water holder to behave like a tap, meaning their only job was to pour the water out for the handwashing demonstrator. This made the participants laugh loudly.

"Allow me to start with thanks to you and your organization. This training is great and healthy for us. You have taught good things about hygiene. This training has equipped us with vast knowledge. I am going to teach my children, especially the handwashing techniques and dental hygiene, the way you have taught us," said Dora Musotsi, the spring's elected Secretary and the community's main mobilizer.

"You can see a smile on my face revealing the joy I have deep in my heart. It is wonderful and great to have acquired such skills. I have learned a lot and I am going to teach my friends and family at large," Mark Wamondo, the spring's elected Chair, agreed.

"We always put on our face masks, especially when going to crowded places like the market. We ensure our children wear face masks when going to school, we keep social distance, and we always wash our hands with soap and water. But washing hands is not enough to stop COVID-19. We need to employ all that you have taught us, especially practicing respiratory hygiene like sneezing in the elbow," Mark added.

"We need to empower children and some of us who were not here with this knowledge. We will set handwashing stations in our home entries to ensure we wash our hands frequently. We are human beings, so we must be worried, but I am confident we will conquer. God has been faithful and if we continue following all the protocols given by the heath practitioners and what you have also taught us, I believe we will win this war against COVID," Mark said.

When an issue arises concerning the water project, 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!

March, 2021: Mulunda Spring Project Underway!

Dirty water from Mulunda Spring is making people in Elwichi, Kenya 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!