plan 55215 Well Initiative 2014

Summary

The Samburu Project's 15 Well Initiative for 2014 will bring the total number of wells drilled to 79. Each 70-meter well provides access to clean, safe drinking water to approximately 1,000 people.

Background

The Samburu District is located in the Great Rift Valley, one of the driest places in Kenya. Annual rainfall is estimated at 400mm and is extremely erratic. Most rivers run dry for months at a time. The consequent challenges to health, sanitation and livelihoods present an urgent need for water in communities in the area.
Many Samburu women walk up to 20km each day in search of water and the water they find is often unclean, originating from gaping, hand-dug wells contaminated by wildlife and livestock. Drinking contaminated water can cause diarrhea and other waterborne illnesses, which are the leading causes of death in Samburu. Carrying heavy water containers for long distances has been linked to other health issues, including severe back problems and a high incidence of miscarriage. Spending the majority of their day searching for water leaves Samburu women with little time to develop income-generating businesses, care for their children, become more informed about their human rights, or send their children to school. Commonly, Samburu girls do not attend school because they are expected to join their mothers in this quest for water.
With the 52 wells The Samburu Project has drilled, more than 52,000 people now have access to clean, safe drinking water. As a result of their access to water, women have fewer health problems and have begun nourishing themselves and generating income through agricultural endeavors. The number of women engaging in farming and micro enterprise initiatives has grown from 54 to over 1,000 since Samburu Project wells became operational. Instead of solely hunting for water every day, girls can now attend school and become educated assets to their communities. Since the establishment of wells, the number of girls attending school in The Samburu Project's well communities has tripled.

Location

Wamba, Archer's Post, Sere Olipi, Maralal, Samburu, Kenya

Focus

Primary Focus: Water - Community
Secondary Focus: Drinking Water - Households

People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 15,000

The average number of people served by The Samburu Project's wells is 1,000. This is roughly 200-250 households with an average of 4-5 members.

School Children Getting Water: 9,000

According to local government statistics, about 60% of the community members are school-aged children.

People Getting Sanitation: 15,000

Good sanitation is one of the most prominent effects of introducing sources of clean, abundant water to The Samburu Project's well communities.

People Getting Other Benefits: 15,000

With water, community members are able to improve their lives through activities such as farming and other enterprises. More children attend school. Women no longer spend most of their days searching for water--enabling them to spend more time caring for families and participating in income-earning activities.

Start Date: 2014-06-01

Completion Date: 2013-11-30

Technology Used:

The overall objective of The Samburu Project is to enhance the lives of the Samburu people in the villages where wells are drilled. By freeing women of the obligation of spending hours per day searching for water, and by ensuring that everyone has access to clean, safe drinking water, The Samburu Project has given women the opportunity to engage in other activities, given children the opportunity to go to school, and given everyone the chance to live more healthful lives. This success has inspired The Samburu Project to drill another 15 Wells in the area.
The Samburu Project works closely with local communities during every step of the process. Communities first apply to The Samburu Project community-based organization (CBO) for a well to be drilled in their community and once their application is accepted they work alongside The Samburu Project’s CBO and hydrogeologist to select a location for their well. Each community, represented by a women’s group, signs a contract agreeing to specific conditions and responsibilities including: clearing area for well site; collecting and delivering sand, concrete and hardcore; participating in maintenance, hygiene and sanitation workshops; creating a community fund for ongoing well maintenance.
The Samburu Project has had much success with our use of the Afridev Handpump. It is widely used across Africa and is attractive because of its simplicity and sustainability. Maintenance is easy and there is limited breakage. The most common repair issue is caused by the wearing away of the rubber parts. These are easily obtained, often at no cost, from the drilling company and can be replaced by trained members of the community.

Phases:

The project is done in 4 Phases: Community Selection, Hydrogeologic Surveys, Drilling and Installation, and Hygiene, Sanitation, and Maintenance Workshops.

Community Organization:

The Samburu Project consider the wells to be the property and responsibility of the community from their inception. In addition to the community’s capacity during the drilling process, they are fully responsible for the maintenance of the wells. With the help of our Project Manager—a Samburu tribesman and local leader—each village forms a water committee which sees to it that the wells are maintained and access is granted fairly to community members. Each household contributes to a well-maintenance fund, which is used to buy parts in the event of a breakdown. The role of The Samburu Project is to monitor this process, providing backup when needed.

Government Interaction:

Before the well is drilled, the local Samburu Project CBO acquires a permit for drilling from the Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA), a branch of the Kenyan Ministry of Water. In addition, The Samburu Project's Project Manager, Lucas Lekwale is a member of the District Development Committee and the NGO Representative to the District.

With the roll out of the new constitution in Kenya, The Samburu Project's interaction with the local government might change. Funding for development is being decentralized which may bring upon the opportunity to partner with local government on our well drilling initiatives. Stay tuned!

Ancillary activities:

The Samburu Project supports and funds agricultural and greenhouse initiatives in its well communities. Using drip irrigation, community members form farming cooperatives (such as the Milimani Farm mentioned previously) which can generate up to $100,000 annually for the community.
Though these initiatives branch from the installment of a well, they are funded separately.

Other Issues:

Life for Samburu women is extremely difficult. Women and girls lack many basic human rights. Women are often considered the property of their husbands and rarely given opportunities to own goods or property. In some villages, girls are not permitted to go to school. The Samburu circumcise girls as a rite of passage. The Samburu also practice polygamy, so it is not uncommon for a man to have multiple wives. Violence against women is socially acceptable and often encouraged. Samburu women carry all the daily household burdens, including fetching water and firewood, caring for their children, building and maintaining their homes, tending to livestock, and cooking. The direst issue in Samburu is not HIV/AIDS, malaria, poverty or genital mutilation, however. It’s lack of clean water and facilities for proper sanitation. The Samburu Project's wells have provided a degree freedom that was previously unavailable to the women in these communities. Women are now able to spend less time on water, and more time on activities for themselves and their families.

Maintenance Revenue:

The community agrees by contract to pay for maintenance costs. Each well committee collects approximately $1,200 per year for this purpose. In order to ensure well functionality and monitor its use, The Samburu Project spends approximately $250 per year per well. This comes from a general fund, which is maintained by individual donations.

Maintenance Cost: $500

Metrics:

1. Frequency of well breakages.
2. Number of people the well serves.
3. Amount of water extracted from the well.
4. Water-born disease pre/post well.
5. Maintenance fund balance.

Cost: $262,500

Each well will cost an estimated $17,500 in 2014.
-Well Drilling (Drilling, Installation & Construction) $14,440
-Hydrogeological Survey $625
-Permits $320
-Community Mobilization (Staff, Transportation, Food, Accommodation, Equipment etc.) $1790
-Hygiene & Sanitation Training $325
TOTAL EXPENSE: $17,500

Co Funding Amount: $52,500

Through a three year pledge from the Pasquesi family, three wells for 2014 have already been funded. We will begin securing the rest of 2014 well funding, once funding is complete for the 2013 well campaign.

Community Contribution Amount: $27,495

Estimation based on labor contributed for clearing the site and collecting the sand, hard core, ballast and water needed to drill the well as well as the well committee's time for training on maintenance and hygiene & sanitation.

Fund Requested: $210,000

  • 1 participant | show more

    Challenges and solutions

    Don Howard of Rotary District 5450

    What you have already accomplished is truly remarkable and I hope to learn from your success. I'm trying to bring rain water harvesting to 54 rural schools scattered from Lake Victoria to the Trans Mara. Clean water for students and community members is one of our goals, but equally important is water for agriculture. When we established a...

    What you have already accomplished is truly remarkable and I hope to learn from your success. I'm trying to bring rain water harvesting to 54 rural schools scattered from Lake Victoria to the Trans Mara. Clean water for students and community members is one of our goals, but equally important is water for agriculture. When we established a well in the Masaii area south of Nairobi, there was water to drink but the women still have long distances to walk in order to fetch the water. Furthermore, only minimal interest was expressed in doing agriculture projects. They seem to honor their nomadic way of life, though some are willing to lease land to members of other tribes. Do you have a system for distributing the water in ways that reduce the distances women must travel.
    You also mention that 1,000 women are now engaged in micro finance businesses and farming. Assuming that half of the 52,000 people served by your 52 wells are women, behavior change has obviously been a challenge. Do you find that the women living close to the water source are the ones that have been receptive to changing? I also wonder how you have developed your micro finance system. Banks in our area are reluctant to loan money without collateral and do not accept the concept of people vouching for each other until they have proven their ability to make good on loans. Do you provide small loans to get groups started?

  • 1 participant | show more

    Challenges and solutions

    Don Howard of Rotary District 5450

    What you have already accomplished is truly remarkable and I hope to learn from your success. I'm trying to bring rain water harvesting to 54 rural schools scattered from Lake Victoria to the Trans Mara. Clean water for students and community members is one of our goals, but equally important is water for agriculture. When we established a...

    What you have already accomplished is truly remarkable and I hope to learn from your success. I'm trying to bring rain water harvesting to 54 rural schools scattered from Lake Victoria to the Trans Mara. Clean water for students and community members is one of our goals, but equally important is water for agriculture. When we established a well in the Masaii area south of Nairobi, there was water to drink but the women still have long distances to walk in order to fetch the water. Furthermore, only minimal interest was expressed in doing agriculture projects. They seem to honor their nomadic way of life, though some are willing to lease land to members of other tribes. Do you have a system for distributing the water in ways that reduce the distances women must travel.
    You also mention that 1,000 women are now engaged in micro finance businesses and farming. Assuming that half of the 52,000 people served by your 52 wells are women, behavior change has obviously been a challenge. Do you find that the women living close to the water source are the ones that have been receptive to changing? I also wonder how you have developed your micro finance system. Banks in our area are reluctant to loan money without collateral and do not accept the concept of people vouching for each other until they have proven their ability to make good on loans. Do you provide small loans to get groups started?

  • 2 participants | show more

    Reports of historical wells and status of 12 well initiative of 2013

    Meera Hira-Smith of Project Well

    Hello, There is an error in the date of implementation that needs to be edited. Waiting for the responses of the above questions. My concern is about your historical wells: in total you have 65 projects uploaded on PWX and the Lauragi Well (D5W3) constructed in 2011 as per a third party report of Oct 17 2012 that it was serving well. ...

    Hello,
    There is an error in the date of implementation that needs to be edited. Waiting for the responses of the above questions.
    My concern is about your historical wells: in total you have 65 projects uploaded on PWX and the Lauragi Well (D5W3) constructed in 2011 as per a third party report of Oct 17 2012 that it was serving well. Excellent. And Lopisewo Well (D1W2) constructed in 2006 is also reported by third party to be functional who has uploaded pictures but unfortunately none of the pictures show any people pumping water where it is claimed that 750 people are getting water from this well. We, the peer reviewers, are interested to see pictures of construction of wells, maintenance of wells and the use of the wells as seen in the Lorian/Golgotim (D2W5) Well uploaded by the third party visitor five years after completion. May be uploading pictures is not possible by the local partners due to lack of cell phone and internet access. Hope the funders can establish a way to resolve this issue through third party that is crucial to obtain accountability world wide. Do the local NGO members have cell phones, computers and internet access?

    • Kristen Kosinski of The Samburu Project

      Thanks Meera. I have to look at the photos you are talking about. Not sure why 3rd parties didn't take photos of the wells pumping. As you know, sometimes while in the field one gets stuck in the moment and documentation becomes secondary. I know this is a challenge for me personally. I have never specified to 3rd parties what kind of r...

      Thanks Meera. I have to look at the photos you are talking about. Not sure why 3rd parties didn't take photos of the wells pumping. As you know, sometimes while in the field one gets stuck in the moment and documentation becomes secondary. I know this is a challenge for me personally. I have never specified to 3rd parties what kind of reporting we want, but am simply happy if they are willing to do a report on PWX as it isn't always easy to get this done.

      As for our team on the ground, we are definitely technologically challenged with all of the above. Cell and internet service is challenging. The use of technology is limited. We try but do no always succeed.

  • 2 participants | show more

    community participation and WUCs interaction

    Christine Roy of International Lifeline Fund

    Thank you for you detailed overview of the situation and development concerns. I wanted to ask about the dynamic and accountability links between the women's group that signs the initial contract (agreeing to conditions and responsibilities) and the management and maintenance of the well through the water committee and the Project Manager....

    Thank you for you detailed overview of the situation and development concerns. I wanted to ask about the dynamic and accountability links between the women's group that signs the initial contract (agreeing to conditions and responsibilities) and the management and maintenance of the well through the water committee and the Project Manager.
    How do these groups interact with each other, specifically how does the women's group interact with the water committee and the project manager? Are they respected by these groups? Does the women's group typically join the water committee? If not, is the women's group held accountable for the initial conditions/responsibilities (as signed in the contract) or is the maintenance responsibility transferred to the water committee after drilling or is there a division of labor? Are water committees comprised mostly of men or women, or are they mixed? As you outlined in your description, the roles and level of influence between men and women can differ substantially and I'm curious to hear how your organization manages this dynamic throughout the life of the project.

    • Kristen Kosinski of The Samburu Project

      Christine... Thank you for your thoughtful questions. Please see my answers below. Let me know if you have any further questions. Kristen How do these groups interact with each other, specifically how does the women's group interact with the water committee and the project manager? There are typically representatives from the wo...

      Christine...

      Thank you for your thoughtful questions. Please see my answers below. Let me know if you have any further questions.

      Kristen

      How do these groups interact with each other, specifically how does the women's group interact with the water committee and the project manager?
      There are typically representatives from the women's group on the water committee. The project manager interacts with all members of the community.

      Are they respected by these groups?
      Yes as they are a part of the group.

      Does the women's group typically join the water committee? Yes.

      If not, is the women's group held accountable for the initial conditions/responsibilities (as signed in the contract) or is the maintenance responsibility transferred to the water committee after drilling or is there a division of labor?
      The water committee and women's group work alongside each other.

      Are water committees comprised mostly of men or women, or are they mixed?
      Mixed as evenly as possible.

      As you outlined in your description, the roles and level of influence between men and women can differ substantially and I'm curious to hear how your organization manages this dynamic throughout the life of the project.
      It is an ongoing process and each community is different. Ultimately, we leave community dynamics up to the community and work with them specifically on the ongoing maintenance, management and sustainability of the well. What we know for sure is that the most successful project are those that have participation from men & women in the community.

  • 3 participants | show more

    questions on community funds, environmental protection and sanitation & hygiene training

    Pamela Crane of Lifewater International

    I am excited to see this work in Samburu region. I have worked in the Marsabit District, though not Samburu, and it is a region much in need of WASH initiatives. Based on my experiences there I have several question for you: -The environmental situation is very delicate in this region. I have seen where new wells end up leading to envi...

    I am excited to see this work in Samburu region. I have worked in the Marsabit District, though not Samburu, and it is a region much in need of WASH initiatives. Based on my experiences there I have several question for you:

    -The environmental situation is very delicate in this region. I have seen where new wells end up leading to environmental degradation because of the following circumstance: A new well means that animals can stay near the good grazing areas and do not travel as far. This results in the land being over-grazed, and it is unable to recover from this and is essentially destroyed as more animals and people stay in the area of the well. Have you seen this and how are you protecting against this as it would lead to destroying the livelihoods of the Samburu in the long run?

    -I am very impressed that the groups are able to collect $1,200 annually for the long term sustainability of the well. How is this done? If only about $250 is needed for the maintenance, what are the other collected funds being used for?

    -I am surprised that an Afridev hand pump costs $250 wells to maintain annually in the beginning, especially as you suggest that the rubber parts are being provided by the manufacturer. Can you explain these costs?

    -How are you doing sanitation and hygiene training in communities? Are you seeing sustained behavior change? These things are very difficult in arid regions (and with nomadic tribes if the tribes continue to be nomadic) and I am very interested in how you have gained success and traction.

    Thank you for your time; I look forward to hearing from you.

    • Paul Kaufman of Aqua Clara International

      I am also very familiar with the region, and excited to see access to water becoming more accessible. However, i do mirror Pamelas concerns about water points causing overgrazing, especially in these water scarce regions. I have seen these issues in the Tarangire and Loliondo regions of Tanzania as well.....with nothing being done to avo...

      I am also very familiar with the region, and excited to see access to water becoming more accessible. However, i do mirror Pamelas concerns about water points causing overgrazing, especially in these water scarce regions. I have seen these issues in the Tarangire and Loliondo regions of Tanzania as well.....with nothing being done to avoid it. I'm eager to hear how you are tackling this potential threat to the Samburu livelihood.

      I also know issues with maintenance of Afridev wells are common, often causing them to fail. How is the manufacturer providing the parts? Are they leaving a supply at a local vendor, or do they have a continuous presence in the area. Is Samburu project working on a supply chain, ensuring parts and trained personnel to repair wells?

      I look forward to your response.
      Paul

    • Kristen Kosinski of The Samburu Project

      Pamela & Paul... Thank you for your questions. Please see my answers below and let me know if you need any follow up. Kristen Environment: Environmental impacts are a big consideration for The Samburu Project. Though communities are staying close to the wells, the warriors and men, take the animals away to pasture areas to graze....

      Pamela & Paul...

      Thank you for your questions. Please see my answers below and let me know if you need any follow up.

      Kristen

      Environment:
      Environmental impacts are a big consideration for The Samburu Project. Though communities are staying close to the wells, the warriors and men, take the animals away to pasture areas to graze. These pasture areas are determined by a council of elders who meet regularly to discuss grazing patterns. They dictate to the greater community where grazing can happen so as to diminish the possibility of overgrazing and environmental degradation. The well locations are taken into consideration in the decision making process.

      Additionally, wells are not drilled within homesteads but at a distance. Well sites remain next to dry riverbeds and are surrounded by trees. Communities are not permitted to cut the trees in these areas so as to maintain the environment surrounding the well.

      Community Fund:
      As part of the community development process, The Samburu Project trains communities on establishing and maintaining a community fund for well maintenance and repairs. Once communities are trained, The Samburu Project does not have oversight over their funds as the wells along with the well funds belong to the community. We are simply available to offer assistance if need be in the forms of training and guidance. Thus, it is up to the community how they spend their additional funds. Many communities begin projects like brick making, agricultural initiatives, merry go round no interest loans, medical assistance programs, school fee programs etc.

      The numbers are a bit misleading as the $250 number is The Samburu Project's allocated cost towards yearly well maintenance which includes things like staff salaries, cost of routine visits for monitoring, evaluation and training etc.

      Hygiene & Sanitation:
      We train communities on hygiene & sanitation at the well site during the drilling process. Then, after drilling is complete, water committee members join other well communities for a hygiene & sanitation workshop. The well committee members go back to their communities and train the greater community. As a follow up, during monthly routine visits, community members are retrained and reeducated.

      The results vary from community to community. Some communities are able to implement proper hygiene and sanitation practices from the start and other need ongoing training to understand the importance of keeping their well clean. As The Samburu Project continues to expand, communities are more educated as they have seen examples of other well communities and hygiene and sanitation practices have been easier to implement.

      Afridev Handpumps:
      When wells are drilled, communities are left with a repair kit including spare parts. Additionally, The Samburu Project maintains a supply of spare parts that are available for purchase. Ideally, a local business take over the supply chain so as to take over so as to relieve The Samburu Project of this aspect of the business. Hasn't happened yet but we remain hopeful.

      As I mentioned previously, communities are trained extensively on well repair. If need be, our team, including a well technician, is available to assist if communities cannot repair wells on their own for whatever reason. As the project grows, so grows the number of experts in the field so to speak.

  • Rating: 8

    review by Aqua Clara International

    Very necessary project in an extremely dry area.

    Pros: New livelihood opportunities for Samburu women, water for the community, healthier families.

    Cons: Still missing a few links on the sustainability end as the communities still don't have Local Access to spare parts for repairs forcing them to rely on outside sources. This is an area that needs attention!

    I would recommend supporting the project for part or whole if the funding is available.

  • Rating: 7

    review by Drink Local. Drink Tap.

  • Rating: 9

    review by GRAVIS

    Solving the problem of safe drinking water is required much and this project is working for the same. Success of the work is very well explained in the project.

  • Rating: 6

    review by International Lifeline Fund

    Thank you for you detailed overview of the situation and development concerns. I wanted to ask about the dynamic and accountability links between the women's group that signs the initial contract (agreeing to conditions and responsibilities) and the management and maintenance of the well through the water committee and the Project Manager.
    How do these groups interact with each other, specifically how does the women's group interact with the water committee and the project manager? Are they respected by these groups? Does the women's group typically join the water committee? If not, is the women's group held accountable for the initial conditions/responsibilities (as signed in the contract) or is the maintenance responsibility transferred to the water committee after drilling or is there a division of labor? Are water committees comprised mostly of men or women, or are they mixed? As you outlined in your description, the roles and level of influence between men and women can differ substantially and I'm curious to hear how your organization manages this dynamic throughout the life of the project.

  • Rating: 4

    review by Lifewater International

    This program has all the components for success, including awareness of the environment, hygiene, sanitation, and community participation. However I am concerned that the program will truly be able to accomplish the high impact it anticipates. From my knowledge of boreholes, 1,000 is a high number of people for each well to be serving, meaning that it is likely there are long lines or that the water may dry up during the dry season. Furthermore, the projections show that all 1,000 people using each of the 15 wells will gain sanitation, which is an extremely difficult level of coverage to reach in any program, let alone in a program where hygiene and sanitation is less than 2% of the budget.

  • Rating: 7

    review by Peer Water Exchange

    TSP's execution of the wells are solid.

    The next step is to do more post-implementation. Can we get more accurate counts of the population (many project beneficiary counts appear as the original estimate)?

    How much water is flowing year round? Is there substantially less in the dry season?

    I am interested in what changes occur due to this continuous water supply? In culture, in population, ...

  • Rating: 5

    review by Project Well

    Need more updated reports of the historical wells with pictures. It is very hard to assess the status of the construction of 12 wells initiative of 2013.

  • Rating: 5

    review by Rotary District 5450

    The need for water in the desert areas where the Sambura people live is without question. The Sambura Project in installing 64 wells (79 existing minus 15 new wells) is impressive. Perhaps it is my unfamiliarity with the area, but I am left with questions about the accuracy of the data.

    Claiming that each well serves 1,000

    Communities form around the wells yet wells are located a distance from the community near river beds.

    More than 1,000 women engaged in micro finance and agriculture, a small percentage when considering that 64,000 people are benefiting from the wells, with approximately ½ being women.

    No specific information on how $1200 a year is collected by the community.

    No specific matrixes concerning previous wells.

    The limited amount of funds available for the many worthy projects and the size of the request for the Sambura Project seem disproportionate. Although worthy, I feel the project should be scaled back to a smaller number of wells.