Loice No Longer Suffers from Typhoid!

July, 2025

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

Last year, your gift unlocked the potential for a brighter future for Loice. Since then, she and the Musungu Community of 147 residents have had clean, reliable water. Your contribution has made a significant impact. Thank you for making a difference!

"I am not worried about safety when fetching water because I can fetch water any time I feel like."

Before the Spring Protection

Like many women in Kenya, 39-year-old Loice Askari is responsible for collecting water to meet daily water needs. Before last year’s water intervention, this task stole her time and negatively affected her.

A community member collecting water before the spring 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 Loice, in particular, it lessened her opportunity to stay healthy and hold onto her resources for her daily needs.

"Before the implementation of the project, personally, I was always sick of typhoid because of drinking contaminated water. I spent a lot of money on medication," shared Loice.

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 Loice’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!"

Loice at the protected spring.

"My health has really changed because I am now taking clean water from the protected spring. There are no more waterborne diseases. I don't use my money on medication anymore," said Loice.

"I am proud of the fact that I have not been taken to [the] hospital because of typhoid. Initially, I was using a lot of money on medication due to frequent outbreaks of waterborne diseases."

The Future is Looking Bright!

A year ago, you made a difference for Loice 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 Loice 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.

"The water supply is reliable. I have quite sufficient time to be involved in other on-farm and off-farm economic activities.

"I am happy my grandchildren will use safe, reliable, and clean water," said Loice.


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 Musungu 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 Musungu 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: 147 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Aug 2024

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 06/05/2025

Project Features


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The Musungu Community solely depends on an unprotected spring for its water supply. Unfortunately, this means that the 147 individuals living here have to endure long wait times to access contaminated water.

"The current water [source] affects me because [I] am being limited to draw water. During [the] daytime, there is a long queue at the spring," said farmer Margaret Khaleya, 52, shown below.

According to UNICEF, "For women, the opportunity costs of collecting water are high, with far reaching effects. It considerably shortens the time they have available to spend with their families, on child care, other household tasks, or even in leisure activities."

The everyday difficulty for people waiting in line only to collect water that will make you and your family sick is incredibly disheartening. To make matters worse, that isn't the only problem those who rely on this spring face.

Safety is a significant issue as well. Field Officer Mary Afandi states, "The environment around the unprotected spring is bushy, which is risky to humans because the snake[s] can bite you without knowing, especially when you come to draw water."

Fear is intertwined with water in this community—fear of sickness, fear of animal attacks, and fear of others.

12-year-old Sarah K., shown below, said, "I must wake up very early in the morning to go and draw water from the unprotected spring. This is risky for a girl as far as security is concerned."

Without a secure water source, people will continue to wait in lengthy queues, and women and girls will face safety risks while fetching water at odd hours. Moreover, waterborne diseases will continue to affect community members causing needless suffering.

By protecting the spring, the entire community will be able to access water without fear. The flow from the water spout will be faster, reducing wait times and eliminating the need for vulnerable populations to venture out at unsafe times.

The Proposed Solution, Determined Together...

At The Water Project, everyone has a part in conversations and solutions. We operate in transparency, believing it benefits everyone. We expect reliability from one another as well as our water solutions. Everyone involved makes this possible through hard work and dedication.

In a joint discovery process, community members determine their most advantageous water solution alongside our technical experts. Read more specifics about this solution on the What We're Building tab of this project page. Then, community members lend their support by collecting needed construction materials (sometimes for months ahead of time!), providing labor alongside our artisans, sheltering and feeding the builders, and supplying additional resources.

Water Access for Everyone

This water project is one piece in a large puzzle. In Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, we're working toward complete coverage of reliable, maintained water sources that guarantee public access now and in the future within a 30-minute round trip for each community, household, school, and health center. One day, we hope to report that this has been achieved!

Training on Health, Hygiene & More

With the community's input, we've identified topics where training will increase positive health outcomes at personal, household, and community levels. We'll coordinate with them to find the best training date. Some examples of what we train communities on are:

  • Improved hygiene, health, and sanitation habits
  • Safe water handling, storage & treatment
  • Disease prevention and proper handwashing
  • Income-generation
  • Community leadership, governance, & election of a water committee
  • Operation and maintenance of the water point

Chlorine Dispensers

Installing chlorine dispensers is an important piece of our spring protection projects. Protecting a spring provides community members with an improved water source, but it doesn’t prevent contamination once the water is collected and stored. For example, if the water is clean and the container is dirty, the water will become contaminated.

We ensure that each chlorine dispenser is filled with diluted chlorine on a consistent schedule so that people can add pre-measured drops to each container of water they collect. That way, community members can feel even more confident in the quality of their water.

Project Updates


August, 2024: Musungu Community Spring Protection Complete!

Musungu 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 generation will use safe water for a long time. I and my family will use water to water crops during dry seasons. I will not lack vegetables to sell for income generation and also have enough to eat. The new water source will generate income because I will use the water to irrigate the vegetables during dry seasons and sell to generate income to pay fees for my children among other household needs," shared 38-year-old businesswoman Loice Askari.

Loice collecting clean water!

"The new waterpoint will make a difference because there will be no more waterborne diseases. They will no longer spend money on medication. Also, the protected spring will serve them long if they continue maintaining it properly. For the children, they will have sufficient time to concentrate on their academic work," she continued.

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

"I am sure of safe and clean water any time after school because, after [the] rains, I could not draw clean water because of dirty water that used to cover the spring every time it rained. I [will] take the shortest time and go back home and do my studies on time. My academic performance will begin to improve for the better," said 14-year-old Getrine.

Getrine collecting 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 into gravel. Because people have to carry most items by hand, the material-collection process can take anywhere from a few weeks to months.

A child helps gather bricks for the spring.

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.

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.

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, which prevents cross-contamination.

Setting the discharge pipe.

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.

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.

Building the 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.

Stair construction.

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 soil.

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.

Grass planting.

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.

Celebrating the spring!

We officially handed over the spring to mark the community's ownership of the waterpoint. "The ceremony was very successful. We had Assistant Chief Madam Lydia Khakasa, Village Elder Madam Pamela Moles and Community members gathered together to thank God for the flowing water. Madam Lydia who is [the] Assistant Chief, encouraged the members to take care of the protected spring, and they promised to take care of the protected spring daily without failure. The community members were very happy to receive the project. Finally, there were songs of praise to thank God for remembering the community," shared field officer Mary Afandi.

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, facilitators, Mary Afandi and Victor Musemi deployed to the site to lead the event. 26 people attended the training.

Mary Afandi teaching dental hygiene.

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.

Training session.

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.

Soapmaking training.

Pamela Moles, 48, is a village elder and the chairperson of the water user committee. She was intrigued by the soapmaking demonstration, as she not only learned a new way to improve the hygiene of her home but also a new means of income! She said, "I normally buy the liquid soap at the market. However, what I have learned today has opened my eyes. Provided you have got the reagents, you [can] make your liquid soap. What we normally buy at the market is not good, like today's liquid soap. I will also make mine and sell [it] to community members who did not attend the training. I will earn some income from soapmaking."

Thank you for making all of this possible!




June, 2024: Musungu Community Spring Protection Underway!

The lack of adequate water in Musungu 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!




Project Photos



Contributors

3 individual donor(s)