Project Status



Project Type:  Borehole Well and Hand Pump

Program: The Water Promise - Kenya

Impact: 500 Served

Project Phase:  In Service - Apr 2015

Functionality Status:  Functional

Last Checkup: 10/08/2024

Project Features


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Community Profile

This project is part of Bridge Water Project's program in Western Kenya. What follows is direct from them:

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Eshikumulo community is inhabited by members of different classes i.e. the literate and non-literate, employed and jobless. The community has a bigger number of young people than old.

Most people in this community are small-scale farmers who depend mostly on farm products. Most households have at least two to three indigenous cows that are a source of milk and cow dung, a small farm of sugar cane and sweet potatoes.

In the year 1987, the community was provided with a drilled well done by the KENYA FINLAND COMPANY.  The well was installed with an afridev pump, which served the community for a long period until 2013 when it worn out and the community members did not know how to revive it. The well was then abandoned forcing the community members access water from a protected spring which is five kilometers away.

According to one of the community members, the afridev pump was later further vandalized and stolen by unknown persons.

CURRENT WATER SOURCE:

Through efforts of women, the families in this community access water from a five kilometer away protected spring, which belongs to another community hence being a source of conflicts. The spring is seasonal and therefore, the community members are forced to wake up as early as 2am to cue to have water.

POPULATION:

The community has a population of 60 households and each household has a number of 5-10 members. In addition, a church hosts more than 50 members from the neighboring communities.

HYGIENE AND SANITATION:

At least every family has a latrine and a composite pit to dump litter. A lot of awareness on hand washing and water treatment practices need to be done.

ACCESSING THE NEED:

Water is an essential need in this community especially for needs of cooking, drinking, cleaning, and watering animals and crops.

PROJECT BENEFICIARIES:

The project will benefit the community and the church.

WATER COMMITTEE:

The water committee is already in place.

We're just getting started, check back soon!


Project Photos


Project Type

Abundant water is often right under our feet! Beneath the Earth’s surface, rivers called aquifers flow through layers of sediment and rock, providing a constant supply of safe water. For borehole wells, we drill deep into the earth, allowing us to access this water which is naturally filtered and protected from sources of contamination at the surface level. First, we decide where to drill by surveying the area and determining where aquifers are likely to sit. To reach the underground water, our drill rigs plunge through meters (sometimes even hundreds of meters!) of soil, silt, rock, and more. Once the drill finds water, we build a well platform and attach a hand pump. If all goes as planned, the community is left with a safe, closed water source providing around five gallons of water per minute! Learn more here!


Contributors

Project Underwriter - Ruggles Family Foundation
The Charles and Gail Muskavitch Foundation
Georgetown University Clean Water H2OYAS 2014
The Rockwood Trust/Gregory P. Lee
Twincrest, Inc.
3 individual donor(s)