Rehabilitation Project
The 630 residents of the Alufu Community struggle to access safe water. Their primary water source is an unprotected local spring. Although it provides plenty of water, even during the dry season, it is contaminated and causes those who consume it to suffer from water-related illnesses.
"I remember visiting [the] hospital on several occasions when I used water from this spring. There's no single month that ended without me going to [the] hospital. Early this year, I remember getting myself into [the] hospital only to realize that I had typhoid that took [too] long to be treated. A lot of my precious time was wasted, and my parents wasted a lot of money that was to pay my school fees on medication. I really got a challenge catching up with my fellow students, and my academic performance was really affected," shared 13-year-old Elizabeth.
"After I was treated, the doctor advised my parents to ensure that they boil [our] drinking water or treat it with chlorine before drinking, and that is what we are doing to date," continued Elizabeth.
Without the proper protection, the spring's water isn't adequately filtered. The water might look "safe," but it is not, and those who consume it often become sick. The negative impacts on their health steal their energy and resources. Children's futures are at risk because so much time is spent being ill, like Elizabeth, they are losing crucial learning time.
Water quality is not the only issue with the spring. The water diverts underground, and not all of the water makes it to the makeshift pipe, significantly decreasing the volume the spring can produce. To collect water, people are forced to either stand in it or perch on rocks on the side of the spring, which is especially difficult and dangerous during the rainy season when the rocks are slippery and the area becomes muddy.
The spring's one positive trait is it never runs dry, so people from surrounding communities come during the dry season to find water because their sources have dried up. Understandably, this makes the spring overcrowded, stealing everyone's valuable time and adding strain to the water source.
"I remember there was a day I was at the spring for one full hour; the reason being that the spring [was] overcrowded because most of the springs around go dry during [the] dry season. A lot of water was diverted, leading to low discharge and time wasting," shared 35-year-old farmer Pauline Wanyama, shown below, collecting water while other community members wait their turn.
Community members have tried their best to remedy the spring's issues without success.
"The water users have tried several times to repair the spring, but since they do not have the person with knowledge on spring protection, all has been in vain. They have also improvised stones that are acting like stairs to help them get into the spring during [the] rainy season to avoid injuries," said Field Officer Victor Musemi.
"The proposed water solution will ensure that community members are accessing clean and safe water free from any contamination because all routes of contamination will be blocked. To add on that, it will be easier for water users to access the water point because there is [the] provision of [a] staircase [so] no more injuries," continued Victor.
"Indeed, water is life! Without clean, safe water, nothing can be achieved in life. To me, water is everything because there's nothing I can do without water. I fully depend on water to survive and carry [out] personal duties," Pauline said, describing why protecting the spring in this community is critical.
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.
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.
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
