June, 2021: Misiko Spring Project Complete!

Malekha Central Community now has access to clean water! We transformed Misiko 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.

"Access to clean and safe water will promote good health and long life, therefore, minimizing frequent visits to the hospital seeking treatment. It also empowers individuals as the little money they have is used for development purposes," said Titus Misiko, a businessperson in the community.

"Many people will be safe. For example, those doing agriculture will do their planning with no water issues. The community will also do their daily routines. Life will change, and a short time will be used in collecting water, hence achieving my target of doing agriculture and business practices to enhance my living," he added.

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

"The fact that we can now access clean and safe water means the levels of hygiene will improve in the community. Health issues will be minimal compared to the past. Our empowerment program will grow effectively, leading to development in the community," said a young Shem.

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 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. 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 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 the clay is in short supply) and placed it slightly 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 people and animals from standing on that area, which could cause soil erosion and thus a clogged drainage area.

We turned to cementing and plastering both sides of the headwall and wing walls with brickwork and stone pitching completed. 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.

Community members had an opportunity to wash hands, splash and collect water, and pose for pictures as the facilitator led the handing-over ceremony. 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 to relay the information learned to the rest of their family and friends.

When the day arrived, facilitators Victor Musemi and Samuel Simidi deployed to the site to lead the event. 26 people attended the training, including community-based leaders and village health volunteers. The day looked good with a sunny and cloudy morning, but in the afternoon, the rain started. The training session started well as we conducted it outside near the spring, which was good for practical demonstrations and COVID-19 preventive measures.

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. 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 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.

Contactless greetings were the most memorable session of the day. Under this topic, the facilitator tried and shared alternative forms of greetings, and these to many present were a surprise. People said they could not believe the contactless and hands-free greetings at first because, traditionally, they knew they should offer contact such as a handshake or hug so that the other person feels you have received their greeting and were not too proud. But, due to COVID-19 measures, hugging and touching someone's hand is not allowed, and this raised concerns among the young children, especially those who used to hug one another without fearing anyone.

Learning how to cough using the elbow was another memorable session. Under this topic, many community members at first demonstrated other ways of coughing that raised concerns among the elders as most older people were using a handkerchief. Others used their hands to sneeze into which was not healthy for others, especially when attending a funeral as a majority of them could not wash their hands frequently at such events. Afterward, we showed the group how to cough and sneeze using their flexed elbow, and they promised to practice it as it ensures that no one would be touching any surface after sneezing with dirty hands.

"To me, it was a moment for a change. The training was good. I learned many things concerning hygiene and sanitation which will shape the way I normally do things and also, educating others will be a priority," said farmer John Nakuru.

"Knowledge is power as far as hygiene and sanitation skills are concerned, and I know I am in a better position to help others. This will also help me to understand the importance of living a healthy life and also minimize the risk of contracting the bacteria-caused diseases through poor hygiene," said Miriam Josina, also a farmer.

"Since the breakout of the COVID-19 virus, the health worker volunteers have been creating awareness by putting out measures to curb the spread, which include social distancing, handwashing, wearing masks, etc. Addressing myths and rumors about COVID-19, the facilitator explained the meaning of the COVID-19 disease. At first, participants really couldn't understand as most of them believed that the virus only affects white-skinned people compared to black-skinned people.

Many participants laughed at one another without knowing the dangers of COVID-19, but after the facilitator tried to convince the group, everybody made up their minds and realized that it's good to adhere to COVID-19 containment measures," Miriam explained, citing a commonly held myth in the region.

"The measures taken into consideration are good for the entire community. This will ensure that there is no spread of the virus amongst ourselves," she concluded.

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!

May, 2021: Misiko Spring Project Underway!

Dirty water from Misiko Spring is making people in Malekha Central, 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!