Safer Water Access for Elizabeth!

March, 2025

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

Last year, your gift unlocked the potential for a brighter future for Elizabeth. Since then, she and the Mukhulutsi Community of 272 residents have had clean, reliable water. Your contribution has made a significant impact. Thank you for making a difference!

"The best thing is having water whenever you want and without worries of time wasting or safety at the waterpoint."

Before the Spring Protection

Like many girls in Kenya, 16-year-old Elizabeth is responsible for collecting water to meet her daily needs. Before last year’s water intervention, this task stole her time and negatively affected her.

The spring before it was protected.

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

"We used to overcrowd at the waterpoint, pushing each other, and ended up getting injured because [the] water was discharging low. Our waterpoint was broken, and [we] did not have stairs for easy accessibility. Coming to fetch water at the water point was boring and disgusting because the place was dirty and muddy where we used to fall during [the] rainy season," said Elizabeth.

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 Elizabeth’s future. By supporting the water solution, you made clean water an everyday reality, fostering hope for a brighter future.

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

"The place now is clean and tidy, [and] we enjoy getting water. We have stairs that help us to access the waterpoint without difficultly," said Elizabeth.

The Future is Looking Bright!

A year ago, you made a difference for Elizabeth 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 Elizabeth 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 fulfill dreams.

"I would say that the presence of clean and reliable water has really had [an] impact on my studies where nowadays, I have enough time to plan my work and have time for studies. I prefer studying at night and early in the morning, so during the day, I would help my parents with house chores and farm activities. I can now have time with my friend whenever [I] am free which before it was difficult," said Elizabeth.

Elizabeth (right) with community women at the spring.

"I would like to become a journalist in [the] future, and [to] achieve that, I believe I need to study hard in a conducive environment where we have all the necessities needed, which includes water, security, and educational materials," she concluded.


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 Mukhulutsi Community 2 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 Mukhulutsi Community 2 – 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: 272 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Jan 2024

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 01/11/2025

Project Features


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The 272 community members in this area of Mukhulutsi rely on Petro Spring as their primary water source, but the spring faces several issues that make collecting sufficient water challenging.

"This water point has never gone dry, but it is overcrowded, and it is not in a good state," our field officer Christine Masinde said.

Christine continued: "Accessing the drawing point is difficult because there are no stairs and the collection area is not wide enough and broken, too. The discharge pipe was not fixed well, which causes contamination [of] the water. There is no fence to protect the spring eye and keep away animals from the water point."

"It is not easy for me to access this spring, especially when it rains. I have to be extra careful to avoid falling as I fetch or carry water," said 8-year-old Zuena (shown above).

When a spring is not properly functioning, the water flow rate is diminished, and collection time increases, causing delays. Those delays waste a lot of time that could be used for other valuable tasks, like generating income or attending school.

Increased water collection time reduces the amount of water that a household uses per day, effectively reducing the amount of clean water available for drinking, cooking and hygiene practices. - Science Direct

"Water users have to queue for a long time as they wait for their turn to collect water," said Christine.

But difficult access and long wait times are not the only issues. Water-related illnesses are also a struggle for community members. And those who suffer from cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, dysentery, and bilharzia as a result of consuming the spring's water pay a high price, especially children and the elderly.

"Based on my age, my immunity is very low. Therefore, I get frequent attacks from typhoid, which is very expensive for me to treat. My family members also get sick from waterborne and water-related illnesses. If our spring is protected well, our health will be restored," said 68-year-old farmer Geoffrey Wanyama (shown above).

Protecting the spring in this community should allow community members quick, sufficient access to a spring that provides safer water. And when they get back their time and health, hopefully, they will be able to focus on other things.

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 training, we work closely with both community leaders and the local government. 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.

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


January, 2024: Mukhulutsi Community Spring Protection Complete!

Mukhulutsi Community now has access to clean water! Thanks to your donation, we transformed their spring into a flowing source of naturally filtered water. We also installed a chlorine dispenser to provide added protection and trained the community on improved sanitation and hygiene practices. Together, these components will unlock the opportunity for community members to live better, healthier lives.

"My family will no longer experience water-related diseases, and as a father, this will give me peace of mind and also save my little money that would have been spent on medication. My animals now have clean water for drinking. I am sure I'll get more milk from them, and they won't experience diseases like before," shared farmer Geoffrey Wanyama.

Geoffrey at the spring.

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

9-year-old Zuena N. said, "Drawing water from the former water point was hard for me. I would find myself mixing clean water with dirty water that would ooze from different points. My mum would just use the water to wash clothes since it wasn't safe for drinking. Right now, I'll be able to help my mum by fetching clean and safe drinking water since the water flows well through the discharge pipe."

"I love playing with my friends so much, but with water scarcity in the past, I never used to get enough time to do so. With the spring protected and water discharging so fast, I'll be able to join my friends again since I won't be wasting much time at the water point," continued Zuena.

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 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 member gathering materials.

When the community was ready, we sent a truck 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.

Excavating the site.

To ensure community members could still access water throughout the construction process, we also dug temporary channels around the construction site from the spring's eye. 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, wire mesh, concrete, and waterproof cement.

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, which prevents cross-contamination.

Building the walls.

If we place the discharge pipe too high above the spring's eye, back pressure 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 the 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.

Setting the rub walls.

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.

Setting the tiles beneath the discharge pipe.

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 close all other exits to force water through only the discharge pipe.

Backfilling the reservoir box.

We filled 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 thick plastic 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. 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.

Community members planted grass around the spring.

The 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. 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 families and friends.

When the day arrived, facilitator Lillian deployed to the site to lead the event. 42 people attended the training, including 25 women and 17 men. We held the training at a community member's homestead near the spring.

Training session.

We covered several topics, including community participation in the project; leadership and governance; personal, dental, and environmental hygiene; water handling and treatment; spring maintenance; the importance of primary health care and disease prevention; family planning; soapmaking; how to make and use handwashing stations; and the ten steps of handwashing.

Soap-making training.

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.

Field Officer Lillian shared that the most memorable training topic was site maintenance. The community members discussed site maintenance issues and how the community had struggled to overcome them. After the training, the village elder requested that they stay back as a community to discuss how they can solve issues affecting them regarding spring maintenance.

Farmer John Wafula shared the insight he gained from the training event. "I have learned a lot in today's training. Like most men in our community, I had always left the responsibility of [fetching] water to my wife. From this training, I have realized that I, too, have a role to play in ensuring that my family [can] access safe and clean drinking water. I can help by always ensuring that the drainage is cleared to avoid water from stagnating at the drawing point, which can result in water contamination. All along, we have always left this responsibility to women."

John Wafula.

Conclusion

This project required a substantial collaboration between our staff, our in-country teams, and the community members. 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 and there is guaranteed public access in the future. 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 Kenya, Uganda, and Sierra Leone, we're working toward complete coverage. That means 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!




November, 2023: Mukhulutsi Community Spring Protection Underway!

The lack of adequate water in Mukhulutsi Community costs people time, energy, and health every single day. Clean water scarcity contributes to community instability and diminishes individuals’ personal progress.

But thanks to your recent generosity, things will soon improve here. We are now working to install a reliable water point and improve hygiene standards. We look forward to sharing inspiring news in the near future!




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Project Sponsor - Milliman IntelliScript