Rehabilitation Project
Back in March of this year, we introduced you to this community as a work began to rehabilitate a well. Unfortunately, in May, we shared that the well in Burundu had been irreversibly damaged by vandals who filled the well shaft with rocks and other debris. We still hope to be able to go back to Burundu in the future to provide a source of clean water and we are talking to Bridge Water Project about what we might do. In the mean time, we have worked with Bridge Water Project to move forward with a project at another community, making sure your hard work and contributions accomplish the goal we all want, bringing relief and unlocking potential for a community in need. Click here to see the new project.
This project is a part of our shared program with Bridge Water Project. Our team is pleased to directly share the report below (edited for clarity, as needed).
BACKGROUND
The proposed Burundu Community water project was drilled in the year 1989 by the Kenya Finland Western water supply programme (KFWWSP) with the aim of enabling the Burundu Community member’s access to quality water for their domestic use and also to improve sanitation and hygiene of the entire community. The well was drilled to a total depth of 60M cased by UPVC 4" inch casings, gravel packed and well pad constructed. Thereafter a NIRA pump was installed which served for long till it got spoiled to the point that the community did ot manage repaire since spares were not locally available in Kenya.
Until recently when the community members heard of BWP development activities in regard of improving the existing water points in the region, they then decided to make an application to the BWP office requesting for rehabilitation of their community water point.
CURRENT WATER SOURCE
Burundu community fetches water from Nyarchere stream located 800 metres away down in a steep and sometimes slippery valley. Water from the Burundu stream accords a turbidity value of 80, which is way below the WHO recommended parameters. The stream is not protected and in the rainy season there is erosion run off, hence contaminating it and making water to be dangerous for human consumption. Water borne diseases ie diarrhea, amoeba, bilharzias etc are all realities to communities using this water supply. During Bridge Water Project interviewers with Malava Health Centre Public Health Officer, Most patients from Burundu area who come for health service suffer from water borne diseases and at most are diagnosed with typhoid.
POPULATION
The community has 50 – 70 households with an average of 6 people per house a projected population of 420 – 500 people.
HYGIENE & SANITATION
Most every home has a kitchen with water storage containers which are covered to ensure the water is well stored, outside kitchen are, we have seen that there are dish racks, which keep cooking pots and utensils off of the floor where animals walk freely. Bathrooms were not found in most homes, since many people still bath from the same stream where they are fetching water for their home use. No clotheslines were seen upon our inspection, so this means people still dry clothes on the ground or on top of the roofs, which is not sanitary, again b/c of local farm animals that might roam freely around the homestead.
PROJECT BENEFICIARIES
Burundu community members are the main beneficiaries if the well will be rehabilitated.
ACCESSING THE NEED
There’s need to rehabilitate proposed Burundu community water project so that the community members can access quality water for their domestic needs and also improve their sanitation and high standards. If the water point is rehabilitated it will be a big relief for young girls and women of Burundu community who continually have to climb a steep valley while carrying 20 litres jerricans on their heads.
WATER COMMITTEE
BWP will oversee the formation of water committee prior to the implementation of the rehabilitation works. The committee formed will be trained on sanitation and hygiene operations and maintenance of the pump to ensure sustainability.
PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
HYGIENE AND SANITATION TRAINING
In order to address the problems of hygiene and sanitation at Burundu community, BWP identified the need to prevent disease and promote health conditions associated with limited access to clean and safe quality water. To achieve this, BWP conducted community education on hygiene and sanitation. According to the organization, provision of hygiene and sanitation education was important in complementing the proposed rehabilitation of Burundu community borehole.
The training was convened under a tree near the proposed borehole site and it was attended by 19 community members (10 men and 9 women). 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, transmission and prevention of diarrheal and other waterborne diseases. The training also emphasized on the need for sustainability of the project through community partnership, contribution and ownership.
Poor storage of drinking water, leads to higher chances of contamination. Many households in this community don't have knowledge or facilities to store water. Some store water in dirty jerricans which have no lids, some used the same container used for scooping water for drinking purposes. The community members were trained on the best ways of water storage as well as its treatment methods to avoid the expenses of treatment.
The Community members were given a chance to identify some of the Good and Bad hygienic practices that are done in their community. It was evident that most of them practice bad hygiene and sanitation due to the beliefs in this society, for example the community members' believe that water has no bad heart (whether clean or dirty it does not cause harm).
In investigating community practices, the facilitator found it necessary to investigate the proportion of participants who used pit latrines for fecal defecation. The facilitator engaged the participants in an activity with the aim of collecting and analyzing information on individual sanitation practices. The pocket chart tool was used during this exercise. The facilitator explained the posters that would be used on the pocket. The posters showed open defecation and use of latrines, a man and a woman. Leaves from different trees were used as voting materials for distinguishing men and women.
The result from the pocket shows that eight out of the 19 community members who took part in the voting exercise still practiced open defecation.
After confirming from the pocket chart that the community still practiced open defecation, BWP facilitator sought to find out from them the disadvantages of this habit. They include:
- Contamination of water sources.
- Contamination of food by Flies that come from the feces.
- Spread of diarrheal diseases.
- Pollution of the environment through bad smell.
BWP facilitatorS urged the community members to make use of latrines so as to curb the spread of diarrheal diseases.
WELL PAD CONSTRUCTION
After the training, the technical team traveled to the project site to reconstruct the concrete well pad. The pad ensures that the well remains sealed and uncontaminated. The team first removed the old cement, being careful not to allow debris to fall down the well shaft. Then the team reconstructed the pad with new materials.
VANDALISM
Unfortunately, before the project could be completed, which would have included flushing the well shaft and installing a new pump, vandals rendered the well unusable by filling the well shaft with stones and other debris. The technical team made a valiant effort to clear the debris, including removing the newly constructed well pad and digging down around the well to try to completely remove the plugged shaft, but the debris went too deep. The team was forced to abandon this well and move on to another project. We hope to be able to provide a solution for the community of Burundu in the future.
