: Sabore's Well

Discussion Forum

Best Regards and few suggestions

By Aa Foundation for Community Development Posted on Sat 09 Feb 2013, about 11 years ago

First my warm wishes for Sabore's project!, every idea of development will start with a single persons dream, and implements by team.
Along with your existing plan of digging well, for sustainability Few plans can be added.
you may need one or two technical people to support you , other that you can take community help to conduct such work in paying a day a honananrium on daily basis.

The areas seems to be not water scarcity as you have a river flowing.
the ideas to get a safe drinking ,reachable, manageable methods.,where it needs awareness on usage,building more then one well so that it can be reached by every one.

closed well only they can draw a water so that water is kept clean.

Usage instruction like not to clean animals,themselves, which usually happens in village atmosphere.

And you are blessed by the river flow, community participation in protecting and cleaning the river, which in turn will increase the well water level.

The well cost if high and more specification on depth and width,material,labore etc,need some more clarity.

Is any matching fund from governance is available?

Also assessment after and before the well construction the attendance in school , how time managed by the women? initiating a life skills for women for economic support.

Planning to build a well is a good initiative, and you also have given us a clear picture about women and children conditions, so now considering all the aspects in your notes have to be in the proposal which will help you to build a sustainable model keeping "well" as a center point.
Thankyou

By Aa Foundation for Community Development Posted on Thu 21 Feb 2013, about 11 years ago

yes, Rajesh still we are looking forward for sober's reply, so that we have clarity whether he is going to have organisational set up or work independently.

contamination

By Aqua Clara International Posted on Sat 26 Oct 2013, over 10 years ago

We're happy to see another organization devote its time and resources to water issues in Kenya--welcome!

My question relates to post-drilling contamination. Constructing a holding tank provides for ready access by users. However, the likelihood for bacterial contamination in that tank is great due to environmental realities, eg sun, heat, etc. Do you have any plans for assessing water quality once a well is dug and producing, and if contamination is indeed discovered through such testing do you have a plan for remediation?

Timetable and budget?

By PhotoPhilanthropy Posted on Fri 08 Feb 2013, about 11 years ago

The stated project duration of two weeks seems overly ambitious. Please provide a more detailed explanation of exactly what will be accomplished in this short time frame.

There are no budget details that justify the $50,000 price tag. A detailed accounting of why this sum is needed and how it will be spent is requested.

Timetable and budget?

By Sabore's Well Posted on Fri 01 Mar 2013, about 11 years ago

This is the first project that we have undertaken and launched on the PWX platform. We are Team Blue Members under the Blue Planet Network umbrella and believe we are the first group of this kind to be fundraising and actually working on our own project as opposed to just fundraising for BPN. Taking this into account, our timeframe model was based on Sabore’s participation and inclusion in a well building process with the Samburu Project. We have already completed fundraising for the first 2 wells, have had the hydrological survey completed by a referred hydrologist through the Samburu Project, and water has been identified in 2 locations. Based on your suggestion that this is overly ambitious, can you please expand on why you think so since we are new to this process.

The $50,000 price tag is an estimation of the cost for 2 wells. It is to include the cost of drilling, the generators, housing for the generators, the pumps, troughs for watering domestic animals, storage tanks and toilet facilities at both locations.

Long-term plans?

By The Samburu Project Posted on Fri 08 Feb 2013, about 11 years ago

This project is very similar to the activities of The Samburu Project. Overall I believe the model and implementation have potential for success. Here I offer some thoughts for a first-time project manager.

I definitely agree with Dean (above) that the timetable is overly ambitious. The budget also seems rather high. The Samburu Project works in a nearby region and we average $15,000 per well--though we generally do many wells at a time, so the individual cost is lower. I'm curious who your vendors are. Other items that influence the budget are the terrain, accessibility of the ground water, and the type of equipment used on the well--for example, is it a hand-pump well? We use the AfriDev hand-pump and are generally satisfied with it.

A long term question, one that has been a major concern for us, is how to deal with ongoing repairs. Community members can be trained on proper usage and how to replace certain parts, but there are some breakages that are--for the time-being--beyond the reach of the community; flood damage is one example. Another major issue is the accessibility of parts for the well. There are no distributors for these parts in our region, and they generally must be brought up from Nairobi. What plans do you have for this and other perennial maintenance issues?

Overall my main concern is that of many well-related projects: how will you ensure that the wells are sustainable? It is unfortunately common for a well to simply be planted and then left. These often fall into disuse within a few years. Do you have a plan for preventing this kind of situation?

I look forward to discussing this further with you. Good luck!

Long-term plans?

By Sabore's Well Posted on Fri 01 Mar 2013, about 11 years ago

Please see our response to Dean about our timetable.
Regarding the location of our project, Sabore’s Wells are not located in the same region that the Samburu Project is working in. Sabore’s Wells are located in Narok South District which is close to the Maasai Mara. The price differs from the wells drilled by the Samburu Project because of the location and the depth. According to the hydrological survey that has already been completed, we will be drilling at a depth of 100 meters and 120 meters. I believe the Samburu Project drills wills at a depth of 75 meters.
Narok South District is 3 hours from Nairobi which allows Sabore and/or community member easy access to obtain supplies or replacement parts due to breakage or general maintenance. This is not a flood zone so flooding in the region is not a concern. The plan for sustaining the wells is to charge each and every head of the family a small amount to pay for fuel (or solar panel repairs) and the ongoing maintenance.
We have a very unique situation in that these wells will be built around Sabore's community and he has a vested interest in this project. His goal is to provide clean water since he personally has been affected by drinking water from the contaminated rivers.

TIME AND ALTERNATE SOURCE

By Aa Foundation for Community Development Posted on Sat 16 Feb 2013, about 11 years ago

Hi Sabore's Well project,

It is really interesting to see the project's interest to alleviate the hard ship of
women and children and provide some +ve changes in their life lives. But at the same time I wonder if it is possible to finish the project within the time frame which is given by you ? Is the borewell is fitted with the hand pump ? The mention of stone wall around the well, is it to protect the borewell or to store the water in it ? If the water quality assesment report says that the water is not
is not potable for consumption then is there any other alternate plans ?

TIME AND ALTERNATE SOURCE

By Sabore's Well Posted on Mon 07 Oct 2013, over 10 years ago

The timeframe that was given for completion of the project was given in consideration that all aspects would be in place and it represents the duration needed for drilling and producing water. It is not meant to encompass the whole process of fundraising, survey, testing, etc.

We are in the process of determining which pump would be most effective for the wells since they are deep wells. Once the volume of water, we can determine the best pump motor and controls as we are considering a solar pump.

The stone wall is to protect the well and pump from livestock and wild animals, mostly elephants. Our plan is to install a holding tank.

If the water is not potable for consumption, then Sabore will meet with the CBO and the community to discuss alternative uses for it.

Thank you
Therese Hjelm
Sabore's Well

Proposal

By Aa Foundation for Community Development Posted on Sun 17 Feb 2013, about 11 years ago

Dear Mr, Sabore

If you provide a details of the project, like structure specification , budget, personnel's involved we will able to grade your project,looking forward for your reply.

Re: Proposal

By Peer Water Exchange Posted on Mon 18 Feb 2013, about 11 years ago

Hello Reviewers,

Lets focus more on the organization structure. We will peer review the project later.

To repeat, this organization is a one-community organization. Sabore's village is interested in getting their water situation improved. In terms of learning from other members and projects, PWX provides an ideal platform.

The other angle is what is their interest in reporting back, sharing, and continuing to participate after project is funded and, later, implemented.

Regards,
Rajesh

contamination

By Aqua Clara International Posted on Sat 26 Oct 2013, over 10 years ago

We're happy to see another organization devote its time and resources to water issues in Kenya--welcome!

contamination

By Sabore's Well Posted on Thu 07 Nov 2013, over 10 years ago

Thank you for your questions and wanted you to know that we apologize for it taking a few days to get back to you but I needed to discuss a few of your questions with Sabore.

There is a local woman and close friend of Sabore's that has a holding tank on her property who uses a treatment system we would consider implementing to keep the water from bacterial contamination. We are also discussing a way to empty and clean the tanks on an as needed basis. We definitely do not want the tanks to be a breeding ground for either contaminates or mosquitos.

It is mandatory that the well water be tested by the local office of Ministry of Water to determine if it is safe for drinking. That is part of the whole drilling process in the region we are working. If remediation is required, we will work with the local government authorities to make sure that the water is consumable for the people we are trying to help.

If you have any suggestions on the best way to remediate the well, you comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Organization Capacity

By Tanzania Mission to the Poor and Disabled (PADI) Posted on Sun 03 Nov 2013, over 10 years ago

1.Can you briefly tell us about your organization capacity interms of office staffs,facilities and networks with other organization arround Kenya?
2. Is your organization have a plan to work with the government or not why?

Well come to PWX family
Regards
Iskaka Msigwa

Organization Capacity

By Sabore's Well Posted on Mon 11 Nov 2013, over 10 years ago

Our organization currently consists of two main people, Sabore Ole Oyie Maasai Warrior, Elder and Assistant Chief from Ewaso Nyiro, Kenya and Therese Hjelm his American Partner. We also have 5 members of the Community Based organization in Kenya who will be overseeing and managing the wells. We have partnered with Blue Planet Network as Team Blue Members which provides us amazing help and support. In addition, we have several volunteers in California assisting with scheduling Sabore's speaking engagements and presentations while he's in the States where we conduct our fundraising. We've aligned ourselves with many of the organizations in Kenya utilized by the Samburu Project, another water based non-profit working with Blue Planet Network.

Sabore has followed the government guidelines for obtaining the necessary permits to drill the wells. We will work with them for testing the water and abide by any other government regulations required during the process. To date, we have not worked with the government on any other items. But this is not to say that we will or will not work with them in the future. Our main goal at the moment is working on our approval with the Peer Water exchange so that we can move forward with our project. If it is necessary to engage the government in our project, we will evaluate their participation at that time. We are not opposed to their assistance should it be beneficial to our project.

Is there a concern on your part for us engaging the assistance of the Kenyan government?

Thank you for your questions.

New model for PWX membership

By Peer Water Exchange Posted on Fri 08 Feb 2013, about 11 years ago

Hello! Welcome to PWX.

Your organization is a new direction for PWX. We currently work with orgs who implement in more than one site so they would be more interested in ongoing learnings and both share and learn from other peers.

You are a single site org apparently? Is this true?
If yes:
- Who from your community would be participating in peer review and responding to technical and implementation issues?
- How is your representative chosen at the local level? Now and in the future.
- Why would you continue to participate in peer activities after your project is complete? What is your motivation and interest?
- What are your drivers for reporting after funding? For long-term monitoring and evaluation? Why would your community report on ongoing basis?
- How can we expect to put up learnings from handling hurdles and challenges?

Thanks,
Rajesh
-

New model for PWX membership

By Sabore's Well Posted on Fri 01 Mar 2013, about 11 years ago

We are not a single site organization. We plan on drilling and installing many wells in the Narok South Region of Kenya.
Sabore Ole Oyie and his CBO team will be participating in the peer review along with Therese Hjelm his partner in the US. This group will also be the ones responding to implementation issues.
Sabore is currently the elected Chairman of the Board and his term will run for two years. The governing laws of the CBO outline the election process and how it is to be handled now and in the future.
We will definitely continue to participate in peer activities after our project is complete to share our experience, the results and the changes that it brings to the community. We would like to continue to learn more from this platform and to become as effective and efficient as possible since our long term goal is installing 400 wells.
We plan to stay as a Team Blue Member under the Blue Planet Network umbrella for our fundraising efforts and will continue to use the platform that BPN requires of us. We also see this as a way of perfecting our project and learning from other skilled members from PWX.
We are not sure we quite understand your last question about putting up learning’s from handling hurdles and challenges. If you want us to discuss with you what hurdles we faced during this whole process, we will be willing to share our experience so that others can learn from us, whether it’s positive or negative.

Re: New model for PWX membership

By Blue Planet Network Posted on Fri 01 Mar 2013, about 11 years ago

Thank you, Therese, for the reply.

A few questions based on your response:

1. its good to see your plans to install 400 wells. Is this all in the same vicinity and all under the same CBO? Or will you need to grow into an NGO (such as The Samburu Project)?

2. To clarify my question about sharing learning's: i am referring to the hurdles faced on the ground (often on a regular basis) and that of some failures. We need some capacity on the ground to be able to report (via SMS or channels that the platform provides). When someone in the US is in charge of entering this data, its already filtered and summarized and sanitized and made positive. We have not had success with friends from Samburu to have their field staff use the platform to report from the field. We have had great success from Project Well to have all the reporting from the field not get lost in emails but to have it all in one place.

So, if all communications into the platform are coming from US, i see much information for your own records and for others' learning, likely to get dropped. How often will Therese be talking to the folks on the ground? What is the mode of communication (phone, skype, email, ...)? Would you see a transition to the platform?

Even in this case of membership, its someone in US doing all the work. Do you plan to have Kenyan locals participate? How would you plan the training for this?

I am genuinely interested in this process because new organizations can adopt new communication ways easier than older ones. We have had less luck with old organizations (despite them informing me of their issues with losing information when people left) trying new channels, than new organizations who love the way the platform helps capture activity data.

Regards,
Rajesh

Re: New model for PWX membership

By Sabore's Well Posted on Mon 07 Oct 2013, over 10 years ago

Thank you for your additional questions Rajesh and apologize for the long delay in responding.

1) The 400 wells Sabore would like to install will all be located around the Narok County South District area and possibly venturing towards the Maasai Mara region as long as he can obtain the proper permitting approvals for the area. To date, we have not discussed becoming our own NGO.

2) With regards to sharing our learning experience, we would like to have Sabore report on the progress on the ground as much as possible and not have the process censored due to reporting being made in the US. We need to obtain a better computer and internet access for Sabore to make this happen. One option too, is having him type the reports in an email to me and I will post it directly to the Peer review unedited.

I communicate with Sabore on a regular basis via phone, text and Facebook and will be able to relay any information pertinent to our project, however, as I mentioned, we want Sabore to be responsible inputting information on updates, progress, problems, solutions, etc.

Sabore has established a CBO and it's members will be responsible for training. It will be handled locally, not from the US.

I agree that new organizations can adopt new communication ways easier than older ones and believe a great way of communicating is via Facebook since it is available on phones and many times easier to access than some websites. It is a great way for others to review and learn from projects and also comment, post suggestions and it will be readily available. As a suggestion, links to projects can be made in the Peer Water platform to projects Facebook pages, pictures can be posted and videos uploaded for viewing.

Thank you
Therese Hjelm

Best Regards and few suggestions

By Aa Foundation for Community Development Posted on Sat 09 Feb 2013, about 11 years ago

closed well only they can draw a water so that water is kept clean.

Usage instruction like not to clean animals,themselves, which usually happens in village atmosphere.

And you are blessed by the river flow, community participation in protecting and cleaning the river, which in turn will increase the well water level.

The well cost if high and more specification on depth and width,material,labore etc,need some more clarity.

Is any matching fund from governance is available?

Also assessment after and before the well construction the attendance in school , how time managed by the women? initiating a life skills for women for economic support.

Best Regards and few suggestions

By Sabore's Well Posted on Mon 07 Oct 2013, over 10 years ago

Thank you for your warm wishes for Sabore's Well project. We are looking forward to start drilling, getting the wells completed and providing fresh water to the community.

We have already been working with several of the technicians the Samburu Project contracts with. They have been very helpful. One of the unique facets of our project is that Sabore lives in the area where our wells will be drilled. He along with the Board and his family members will be able to oversee and properly managed the wells.

The area does have a river, but it is not always flowing. It has dried up in the past due to lack of rain. Part of the river had also been diverted for irrigation but was changed since it is not allowed. Access can also be difficult at times due to wildlife in the area. It is not clean water either. It's contaminated with animal feces, laundry soap, parasites and other life threatening organisms. The water must always be boiled before consumption but unfortunately that sometimes does not happen.

It will be a closed well with a holding tank. The depth of the well does make it more expensive and the pump will also be a large expense.

Once the well is in place, Sabore will be able to gather the data to assess the impact this project will have on the children's attendance in school and the time management of the women. We are hoping it will allow for the women to work outside of the home, make an income and provide a better life for themselves and their family.

We have not approach the governance for matching funds.

Thank you
Therese Hjelm
Sabore's Well