February, 2023: Makhwabuye Community Spring Protection Complete!
Makhwabuye Community now has access to clean water! We transformed Takanyi Spring into a flowing source of naturally filtered water thanks to your donation. Our team also trained the community on improved sanitation and hygiene practices. Together, these components will unlock the opportunity for community members to live better, healthier lives.
"Accessing this water point for safe and reliable clean water will make me have an easy time with my work," said farmer Felistus Injendi, to whom we first spoke during our first visit to Makhwabuye. "Initially, I had fear and could not manage my work. This is because it took us [a] long [time] to get water, and also, there were many incidents of injuries when my child and grandchild fell and broke their hands."
Felistus carries a container of water fetched from the new spring.
"Now that this water has been completed, I am sure of clean water and the safety of all users, since it is well-protected and [our] accessibility is guaranteed," Felistus continued. "This water point will help me achieve saving time [when I] used to queue and wait for water. This time will help me to do other constructive work."
Children were just as excited as adults about the new waterpoint.
"Having reliable water and accessing it without any difficulty will impact my life very positively," said 12-year-old Mirrel S. "I will not suffer any sickness resulting from waterborne diseases like before."
Mirrel, right, splashes water with another girl at the new spring.
"I will be able to attend my classes at school on all the days on the calendar," Mirrel continued. "Before this water point was completed, I was a frequent absentee because of typhoid and diarrhea. I will achieve my goal of becoming a nurse since I will have enough time in school and even at home for my studies."
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 material-collection process can take anywhere from a few weeks to months.
Community members bring bricks to the construction site by the handful.
When the community was ready, we sent a lorry to deliver the remaining construction materials, including cement, plastic tarps, and hardware. Then, our construction artisan and field officers deployed to the spring to begin work. Individual households provided meals throughout each day to sustain the work team.
"The community members were very cooperative during the whole process of implementation and even training," said field officer Jemmimah. "This was very encouraging, for it supported the work so much and helped the artisans have a smooth [construction]."
From Open Source to Protected Spring: A Step-by-Step Process
First, we cleared and excavated the spring area. Next, we dug a drainage channel below the spring and several runoff diversion channels above and around the spring. These help to divert surface contaminants away.
To ensure community members could still access water throughout the construction process, we also dug temporary channels from the spring's eye around the construction site. This allowed water to flow without disrupting community members' tasks 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 establishing the base, we started brickwork to build the headwall, wing walls, and stairs.
"There [were] additional stairs that were added to prevent the water users from falling during [the] rainy season," said field officer Jemmimah. "The soil around the spring is [made of] clay and [they become] very slippery when it rains. The community members provided more ballast (stones) and sand, which enabled more stairs to be constructed, and this was very helpful."
Once the walls had grown tall enough, we began one of the most crucial steps: setting the discharge pipe. The discharge pipe needs to be positioned low enough in the headwall so the water level never rises above the spring's eye, yet high enough to allow 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, backpressure could force water 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 stones on both sides of the spring's drainage channel. We then cemented and plastered each stone, forming the rub walls. These walls discourage people and animals from standing in that area, which could cause soil erosion and a clogged drainage area.
We then cemented and plastered 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 cured, 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.
The final stage of construction is backfilling the reservoir box behind the discharge pipe. We cleared the collection box of any debris that may have fallen during construction. 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 water through the discharge pipe only.
We filled up the reservoir area with the large, clean stones community members had gathered, arranging them in layers like a well-fitting puzzle. We covered the rocks with a thick plastic tarp to minimize potential contamination sources, then piled enough dirt on top to compensate for future settling.
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. 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 the spring was ready, people got the okay from their local field officers to fetch water.
We officially handed over the spring to mark the community's ownership of the water point. Everyone gathered at the spring to give speeches of gratitude and mark the end of construction with a prayer. Happiness, thanksgiving, and appreciation were the order of the day, flowing in all directions.
Training on Health, Hygiene, and More
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 and relay the information learned to the rest of their family and friends.
When the day arrived, facilitators Jemmimah, Rose, and Victor deployed to the site to lead the event. 14 people attended the training, including ten women and four men. We held the training at a community member's homestead under a shady tree.
Opening prayer.
We covered several topics, including community participation in the project, leadership and governance, personal and environmental hygiene, water handling and treatment, spring maintenance, dental hygiene, the ten steps of handwashing, disease prevention, and how to make and use handwashing stations.
Jemmimah helps a community member construct a leaky tin handwashing station.
During the leadership and governance session, we held an election for the newly formed water user committee leaders, who will oversee the maintenance of the spring. We also brainstormed income-generating activities. Community members can now start a group savings account for any future minor repairs to the spring and a cooperative lending group, enabling them to develop small businesses.
The most memorable topic was handwashing, which initially community members showed resistance to adopting consistently. They said that washing your hands before you eat will make your food get cold and waste soap, which is expensive right now in Kenya. However, when we covered why handwashing was important and taught the community members to make soap with their own locally available materials, attendees were convinced that frequent handwashing was not only possible but important for their continued health and freedom from water-related diseases.
Jemmimah shows Felistus proper handwashing technique.
Soap-making was also very interesting for participants, who thought they would need specialized equipment or machines to make soap. They were surprised to learn that soap-making is very simple and inexpensive.
"The training was very valuable, especially the part about taking care of ourselves and making soap," Felistus said (quoted earlier). "Knowledge is power, and indeed I was empowered to learn the skills of making soap."
Conclusion
This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members themselves. 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 their local field officers to assist them.
Also, we will continue to offer them unmatchable support as a part of our monitoring and maintenance program. We walk with each community, problem-solving together when they face challenges with functionality, seasonality, or water quality. Together, all these components help us strive for enduring access to reliable, clean, and safe water for this community.
With your contribution, one more piece has been added to a large puzzle of water projects. In our target areas, we’re working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. With this in mind, search through our upcoming projects to see which community you can help next!
Thank you for making all of this possible!
Rehabilitation Project
