Clean Water Means More Time for Learning for Shavel!

June, 2024

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

Last year, your gift unlocked the potential for a brighter future for Shavel. Since then, she and the Ivugwi Community of 180 residents have had clean, reliable water. Your contribution has made a significant impact. Thank you for making a difference!

"I'm very happy that clean water flows in our spring and in plenty," said Shavel.

Before the Spring Protection

Like many children in Kenya, 8-year-old Shavel is responsible for collecting water to meet her and her family’s daily water needs. Before last year’s water intervention, that task stole her time and negatively affected her ability to attend school regularly.

The spring before protection.

Drinking the water caused severe consequences. Many in her community suffered from waterborne diseases that created health problems, affecting their daily lives. Limited accessibility also meant people wasted time trying to collect sufficient water to meet their needs. The difficult journey to collect water sapped their physical and emotional energy, creating roadblocks. For Shavel, in particular, it lessened her opportunity to get a good education.

"We used to fetch water from a pipe which was not guaranteed to be there the following day. The water was not enough because at some point we used to scramble for it and even go back home late; having little time to study. When heavy rains came; there used to be soil erosion happening around [the] waterpoint, and the water flowing was dirty," shared Shavel.

Since the Spring Protection

Your generous gift last year was much more than a simple donation; it was a powerful statement about your commitment to this community and Shavel’s future. By supporting the water solution, you made clean water an everyday reality for her, fostering hope for a brighter future.

Shavel at the protected spring.

Reliable and clean water lays the groundwork for improved health, education, and economic possibilities, allowing people like Shavel to thrive. We frequently hear from those we interview that "water is life!"

"I'm very happy that clean water flows in our spring and in plenty. I'm able to go back home in time and do my studies [and] also help my parents at home," said Shavel.

The Future is Looking Bright!

A year ago, you made a difference for Shavel and the rest of her community. This is just the first chapter of their story as access to clean water continues to improve their lives!

At The Water Project, we value sustainability and want to ensure that people continue to thrive. We commit to monitoring this project to ensure the water is always flowing and safe to consume. We inspect the system hardware, track water availability, conduct sanitary inspections, and collect water quality samples to identify risks. We work with our team on the ground to resolve them.

You gave Shavel a crucial tool for achieving her dreams: access to clean water. Together, we can excitedly expect that with this precious resource, her enthusiasm and courage will help her fulfill her dreams.

"Now I'm able to arrive in school on time and improve in my studies. I'm able to focus on my goal which is to be a doctor in the future," concluded Shavel.


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 Ivugwi 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 Ivugwi 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.

Project Status



Project Type: Protected Spring

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 180 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Mar 2023

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 12/04/2024

Project Features


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The 180 community members who live in Ivugwi have done their best to improve Richard Mwoshi Spring, but its water is still contaminated and harmful to those who consume it.

They added a pipe to the discharge area, attempting to funnel the flow of water under the pipe area to ease collection, but these attempts have not solved the larger issues. People must still stand in the water or balance on a rock as they wait for their containers to fill with unsafe water. Without other water sources, they have no choice.

"The spring at times discharges colorful water that should not be used in drinking, cooking, and cleaning, but unfortunately, it is the only source that I am relying on with [my] family members, and it has caused me health problems," said Anna Mwoshi, a 68-year-old farmer (shown below collecting water).

Anna is not alone. Many community members have reported suffering from waterborne diseases such as typhoid, diarrhea, and related fevers. The persistent illnesses interfere with people's ability to work and provide income for their families. Often the money they manage to earn goes to pay for medical treatments for water-related ailments instead of other vital needs.

"The spring is found in a deep valley, making it difficult to carry water, especially during [the] rainy season. This has affected me personally because I once fell down, and my legs were injured, which made me miss school the whole term," said 14-year-old Jared I, shown below collecting water.

Although the terrain will still be challenging for community members, access to the water point should be safer once we build stairs. Hopefully, once we expertly protect the spring, community members will be able to gain back some of their time and energy, and their health will improve.

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 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. 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


March, 2023: Ivugwi Community Spring Protection Complete!

Ivugwi Community now has access to clean water! We transformed Richard Mwoshi 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.

"The reliability of water from this spring will impact my life positively. This is because we no longer being affected by water-related ailments which had affected our health," said 54-year-old farmer. Margret Lugalia. "My plans or goals are to improve in hygiene practices, such as cleaning my utensils, latrine, and more so handwashing."

Margert (in purple) with others celebrating at the spring.

Children were just as excited as adults about the new waterpoint.

"The water point [will] impact my life positively. This is because I would no longer waste a lot of time at the spring queuing, more so I would be drinking safe, clean water unlike before where I used to drink contaminated [water] which had affected my health," said 14-year-old Ramsi M. "As a young boy, my plans or goals is to ensure that my academic performance [will] greatly improve. I will no longer waste a lot of time at the water point, and [the] time spent, especially during weekends and holidays, I [will] concentrate on my studies."

Ramsi splashing water.

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.

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.

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.

Laying the foundation.

After establishing the base, we started brickwork to build the headwall, wing walls, and stairs. 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.

Setting the discharge pipe.

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.

Installing floor tiles.

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 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 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.

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 Amos, Olivia, Nelly, and Patricia deployed to the site to lead the event. 20 people attended the training, including five women and 15 men. We held the training at under some shade trees.

Training materials being distributed.

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.

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.

Learning proper handwashing.

A memorable topic during the training was handwashing. Participants were asked to demonstrate how they normally wash their hands. Then the facilitator demonstrated the ten steps of proper handwashing and encouraged everyone to follow the steps keenly.

Training group photo.

"I count myself lucky. This is because I have learned a lot in my life, especially in hygiene practices which has really touched my heart. In school and at home, I have never heard my teacher or my mum teaching me how to wash hands regularly with running water and soap. [This training] has impacted me positively [so] I am going to teach my siblings and my classmates," said Ramsi, quoted earlier.

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!




January, 2023: Ivugwi Community Spring Protection Underway!

A severe clean water shortage in Ivugwi 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 Photos



Contributors

4 individual donor(s)