Project Status



Project Type:  Protected Spring

Regional Program: Western Kenya WaSH Program

Impact: 280 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Aug 2017

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 03/05/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is a part of our shared program with Western Water and Sanitation Forum (WEWASAFO). Our team is pleased to directly share the below report (edited for clarity, as needed).

Welcome to the Community

The people from Lutari Village wake up very early in the morning to work on their farms and prepare their children to go to school. The community living around the spring keeps dairy cattle, grows maize, sugarcane, ground nuts, bananas and various vegetables. In addition to that, the men normally undertake sand harvesting and excavation of stones to sell to construction companies. Some members of the community are involved in making bricks, too. There are many construction projects going on in the area, and so the market is ready for these materials.

The community is special because through these economic activities, the people are able to educate their children and provide for their family's needs. The members of the community usually go to the county market every Wednesday and Saturdays to trade their commodities.

Water Situation

There are 280 different people who rely on Protus Spring for drinking, cooking, watering, and cleaning water. The spring never dries up, even during the driest of seasons. However, it pools in the same area and is open to contamination from surface runoff, animal and human activities, and erosion. The water is particularly dirty during the rainy seasons, since the rain washes feces, fertilizers, and other waste into the spring.

After this water is consumed, community members suffer from typhoid, diarrhea, and amoebic illnesses. Because of improper drainage around Protus Spring, malaria is also a common health challenge.

Sanitation Situation

Over half of households have their own pit latrine, most of which are made of dirt floors and mud or iron walls. If a family doesn't have their own latrine, they will share with a neighbor or find the privacy of bushes.

There are no hand-washing stations in Lutari, and less than half of the 40 households have helpful tools like dish racks and clotheslines.

The spring's landowner, Mr. Protus Burudi, gave us a tour when we visited his community. "Getting clean water for the community has been difficult, and at least God has remembered us now. The whole idea of protecting this spring will solve the water problems. Moreover, the sanitation facilities and health promotion campaign through trainings will enable, enlighten and capacity-build the community to take matters related to community health as a priority and with much seriousness," he commented.

Plans: Hygiene and Sanitation Training

Community members will attend hygiene and sanitation training for at least two days. This training will ensure participants are no longer ignorant about healthy practices and their importance. The facilitator plans to use PHAST (Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation), CLTS (Community-Led Total Sanitation), ABCD (Asset-Based Community Development), group discussions, handouts, and demonstrations at the spring. One of the most important topics we plan to cover is open defecation and its dangers, as well as having and using a pit latrine.

Training will also result in the formation of a committee that will oversee operations and maintenance at the spring. They 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. The fence will keep out destructive animals, and the drainage will keep the area's mosquito population at a minimum.

Plans: Sanitation Platforms

On the final day of training, participants will select five families that should benefit from new latrines.

Training will also inform the community and selected families on what they need to contribute to make this project a success. They must mobilize locally available materials, such as bricks, clean sand, hardcore, and ballast. The five families must prepare by sinking a pit for the sanitation platforms to be placed over. All community members must work together to make sure that accommodations and food are always provided for the work teams.

Plans: Spring Protection

Fetching water is predominantly a female role, done by both women and young girls. Protecting the spring and offering training and support will therefore help empower the female members of the community by giving them more time and efforts to engage and invest in income-generating activities.

In addition, protecting the spring will ensure that the water is safe, adequate and secure. Construction will keep surface runoff and other contaminants out of the water.

Project Updates


October, 2018: A Year Later: Lutari Community

A year ago, generous donors helped protect Protus Spring for Lutari Community in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories. Read more...




August, 2017: Lutari Community Project Complete

Protus Spring in Lutari Community, Kenya is now a protected, clean source of water thanks to your donation. The spring is protected from contamination, five sanitation platforms have been provided for the community, and training has been given in sanitation and hygiene. Imagine the changes that all of these resources are going to bring for these residents! You made it happen!  Now, want to do a bit more? Join our team of monthly donors and help us maintain this spring protection and many other projects.

We just updated the project page with the latest pictures, so make sure to check them out! And please enjoy the rest of the report from our partner in Kenya:

Project Result: New Knowledge

Hygiene and sanitation training was held at Mr. Protus' homestead, since he lives closest to Protus Spring (That's not surprising, is it?). 10 community members attended to share their daily struggles and learn about ways to alleviate them.

1 kenya4721 training

Community members who attended training received notebooks and pencils to record what they learned.

Training topics included but were not limited to leadership and governance; operation and maintenance of the spring; healthcare; family planning; immunizations; the spread of disease and prevention. We also covered water treatment methods, environmental hygiene, and hygiene promotion. We also took a session to emphasize proper maintenance of the spring protection project. The community should refrain from washing clothes, watering animals, farming with fertilizers, and open defecation in the vicinity.

4 kenya4721 training

Participants had a chance to practice the proper way to wash hands.

We brought poster paper and illustrations that facilitated discussion on healthy and unhealthy behaviors. Group discussions were also very effective in helping participants take responsibility for what they were learning. And since we were near the spring, we could take the group over water point management and maintenance there.

We've visited Lutari Community a few times since the training. People have begun building latrines, clearing bushes around their homes, and building dish racks and hand-washing stations.

Project Result: Sanitation Platforms

All five sanitation platforms have been installed and are ready for use. These five families are happy about this milestone and are optimistic that there will be much less open defecation. People without proper latrines would often use the privacy of bushes, but now have a private place of their own. It is expected that proper use of latrine facilities provided by the sanitation platforms will go a long way in reducing environmental pollution here. We will continue to encourage these five families to finish building walls and roofs for privacy.

Project Result: Spring Protection

Community members provided all locally available construction materials, e.g bricks, wheelbarrows of clean sand, wheelbarrows of ballast, fencing poles and hard core (crushed rock and gravel). Accommodation and food for the artisan were provided and a few people volunteered their services as laborers.

6 kenya4721 construction

A local man shuttles a wheelbarrow of dirt to help construct the spring protection.

The spring area was excavated to create space for setting the foundation of polythene, wire mesh and concrete. After the base had been set, both wing walls and the head wall were set in place using brickwork. The discharge pipe was fixed low in place through the head wall to direct the water from the reservoir to the drawing area.

5 kenya4721 construction

As the wing walls and head wall were curing, the stairs were set and the tiles were fixed directly below the discharge pipe. This reduces the erosive force of the falling water and beautifies the spring. The process of plastering the head wall and wing walls on both sides reinforces the brickwork and prevents water from the reservoir from seeping through the walls and allows pressure to build in the collection box to push water up through the discharge pipe.  Lastly, the base of the spring was plastered and the collection box was cleaned. The source area was filled up with clean hardcore and covered with a polythene membrane to eliminate any potential sources of contamination. Finally, grass was planted and cutoff drains dug to direct surface water away from the spring box.

The only challenge was the weather; rains seemed to fall whenever the artisan tried to finish cement work. He had to keep redoing a few parts until the spring finally had enough time to dry.

The community held a meeting to mark the completion of the protected spring. Mr. Caleb Obunde had helped our artisan and was there to witness the transformation. He and his neighbors are already fetching clean water there, and they invite others to share that blessing. Mr. Obunde told us "Protus Spring is not an individual property; it belongs to entire Lutari Community."




Project Photos


Project Type

Springs are water sources that come from deep underground, where the water is filtered through natural layers until it is clean enough to drink. Once the water pushes through the surface of the Earth, however, outside elements like waste and runoff can contaminate the water quickly. We protect spring sources from contamination with a simple waterproof cement structure surrounding layers of clay, stone, and soil. This construction channels the spring’s water through a discharge pipe, making water collection easier, faster, and cleaner. Each spring protection also includes a chlorine dispenser at the waterpoint so community members can be assured that the water they are drinking is entirely safe. Learn more here!


A Year Later: Lutari Community

October, 2018

The value of this protected spring to Lutari Community is evident in how well it is maintained. It is truly an asset!

Keeping The Water Promise

There's an incredible community of monthly donors who have come alongside you in supporting clean water in Lutari Community.

This giving community supports ongoing sustainability programs that help Lutari Community maintain access to safe, reliable water. Together, they keep The Water Promise.

We’re confident you'll love joining this world-changing group committed to sustainability!

A year ago, generous donors helped protect Protus Spring for Lutari Community in Kenya. The contributions of incredible monthly donors and others giving directly to The Water Promise allow teams to visit project sites throughout the year, strengthening relationships with communities and evaluating the water project over time. These consistent visits allow us to learn vital lessons and hear amazing stories – and we’re excited to share this one from Mary Afandi with you.


We observed that cases of waterborne diseases have decreased in Lutari Community over the past year. This means the protection of Protus Spring has contributed toward an improved quality of life. The area around the spring has also been well-maintained by community members.

"Nowadays, I do not struggle to get clean and safe water. I take just a few seconds to draw water from the protected spring," 13-year-old Robin Obanda said.

Robin Obanda and his brother

Protection of the spring is only one step along the journey toward sustainable access to clean water. The Water Project is committed to consistent monitoring of each water source. Our monitoring and evaluation program, made possible by donors like you, allows us to maintain our relationships with communities by visiting up to 4 times each year to ensure that the water points are safe and reliable.

This is just one of the many ways that we monitor projects and communicate with you. Additionally, you can always check the functionality status and our project map to see how all of our water points are performing, based on our consistent monitoring data.

One project is just a drop in the bucket towards ending the global water crisis, but the ripple effects of this project are truly astounding. This spring in Lutari Community is changing many lives.

"I am very happy with the protected spring project and now enjoy clean water," Protus Mukoye said.

Initially people used unprotected spring water which was contaminated by people washing their clothes and jerrycans at the unprotected spring. The resultant dirty water could drain back into the unprotected spring thus contaminating it further. After the protection of the spring and the training carried out, the area around the protected spring is clean and well-maintained.

"The state of cleanliness at the spring has improved because the community has embraced the protected spring. The members of the community now draw clean and safe water from the protected spring," Mr. Mukoye continued.

"Nowadays, members of the community do not queue for water as was the case in the past before the spring was protected. The people have sufficient time to engage in other economic activities."

This is only possible because of the web of support and trust built between The Water Project, our local teams, the community, and you. We are excited to stay in touch with this community and support their journey with safe water.

Read more about The Water Promise and how you can help.


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 Lutari 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 Lutari 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.


Contributors

The Perkins Family Fund
The Hermosillo Family
6 individual donor(s)