This project is part of Bridge Water Project's program in Western Kenya. What follows is direct from them:
BACKGROUND
Mauna Community well was drilled and developed by Kenya Finland Company (KEFINCO) in the year 1989 in Mauna village. The well records a total depth of 42m cased by 4’’ UPVC casings and the water rest level is of 18M. Mauna well was installed with a Nira Pump, which operated well until 2001 when it stalled. The community attempted several times to repair the pump but due to unavailability of spare parts they could not repair it. Due to this pump being broken for such a long period of time, the water committee had ceased being active. However, at the time of our visit, some community members were present and they expressed their commitment to sustainably manage the water and reestablish the water committee if Bridge Water Project would intervene by rehabilitating the well.
CURRENT WATER SOURCE
Currently the community member’s access water from unprotected spring 2km from this well.
POPULATION
The population of Mauna community is 50 households of approximately 6 people.
HYGIENE & SANITATION
Most households in this community do not have pit latrines and a few who have they are well built with concrete slabs. Most community members have resorted to open defecation particularly in sugarcane plantation and this must be addressed.
They have designated solid waste disposal sites though not well secured and most homesteads do not have hand-washing stations.
ASSESSING THE NEED
All the factors towards improving community health of Mauna community accessing clean water and change of sanitation and hygiene practices are vital. It would be good to rehabilitate the proposed well so that the community members, through our training, can change the community hygiene and sanitation practices to reduce many diseases they get through water and an unclean environment.
PROJECT BENEFICIARIES
If the well is rehabilitated the Mauna community members will be the main beneficiaries, which are approximately 60 households.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Mauna Community has had a problem with the accessibility of quality water and there is need to promote Healthy conditions and prevent diseases associated with limited access to clean and safe quality water. BWP conducted Community Education on Hygiene and Sanitation.
The Training was convened near the tree in the compound of the one community members in a proposed borehole site. The training was attended by 25 community members, 8 men and 17 women. The training started with a prayer and a brief introduction between the BWP team and the community members. BWP facilitators stated the objectives of the training to community members. The objective of the training was to prevent disease and promote good health practices by targeting hygiene behaviors, sanitation practices, and the transmission and prevention of diarrheal and other waterborne diseases.
Community Mapping: It was essential to the community members to map the community water and sanitation conditions. Most community members discovered that they were practicing bad hygiene behaviors.
BWP urged them to practice good hygiene and sanitation in order to prevent diseases and improve Health Conditions.
Water and environmental sanitation play an essential role in the spread of many diarrheal diseases. These diseases are spread through person to person or fecal matter contact. Due to this fact, BWP used the ‘F’ – Diagram as a learning tool for the community members to know how those diseases are spread. The F-diagram shows the different transmission routes that fecal matter use to get to the human body.
The ‘F’-diagram represented good and bad hygiene practices in the community, for those who use soap for cleanliness and those who don’t use soap. The posters used reflect all the entries of disease into bodies,
Identification of solutions: The next step in the training helps to identify all the possible barriers that can prevent the disease transmission routes. BWP introduced the Blocking posters to the Community members so that they would use them to block the disease transmission routes on the F- diagram. The posters represented the use of soap when washing our bodies or cleaning hands. The community members went back to the F-diagram to block all the routes. Every route that showed a bad hygiene practice was covered by a good hygiene blocking posters.
During the blocking posters exercise, the community members also discussed water treatment. They came up with the diseases that came about as a result of consuming contaminated water. The diseases mentioned were typhoid, cholera, dysentery and diarrhea in children. This exercise was essential since cases of diarrhea and typhoid were very common in the community, as found out during the baseline survey. The community members also discussed different methods of water treatment which included boiling, filtration, chlorination and the use of the life straw gadget. A BWP facilitator helped them understand that treated water could only remain safe if it is well stored in clean and covered containers.
PAD CONSTRUCTION
The masonry team from BWP begun by removing the slab to fish out the dirt from the well. Then dismantled the well pad to reconstruct. The masons did the final finishing with cement to ensure the well is protected. This was done with keenness to avoid contamination of the well. The pad was then left to cure awaiting pump installation.
FLUSHING OF THE WELL
Flushing was essential to allow contaminated water to flow out of the well hence allowing clean water to fill the well for use.
PUMP INSTALLATION
Pump installation was the next activity towards the rehabilitation of Mauna community. The well was fitted with a new afridev pump. Four UPVC pipes each measuring 3 meters were used during the installation. Stainless steel rods each measuring 3 meters were also used to prevent rust that can cause contamination. After installation, the pump was tested to ensure proper function for its use. The entire process of pump installation was done with participation of community members in order to capacity build them. No challenges were noted during the pump installation process.
The whole community women and men plus the chairman thanked BWP and THE WATER PROJECT for ensuring that Mauna community had access to clean and safe quality water for domestic use.
