Funded by The Samburu Project, The Samburu Project drilled and installed a shallow well equipped with a handpump in this community.
Narrative
Community members, especially women and children, used to walk 8 km each way- now they only walk 500m. Water is used for cooking, washing and school children. Many people have started home gardens. They use extra time to gather firewood and sell it at the market (sometimes as charcoal).
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Stephanie Ng of The Samburu ProjectImplementation Status: completed Tue 22 May 2012, Over 12 Years ago
Stephanie Ng's Visit- May 2012
This well was originally drilled during our third well drill in 2008. However, due to a conflict between the community and one of the well driller’s men, the drilling and equipping of the well was never completed. Having gone with another well driller for our fourth well driller, we decided to return to the first well driller this past August on the grounds that his company would come back to this community and re-drill this well.
When I arrived at the well with Juma and Paul, a couple of women and their children were present and were pumping water into their jerry cans. The new well is located a few meters away from the original well which only has the metal casing remaining. When I inquired about the history of the first well and why it was not completed, the younger woman said that the well was drilled and completed and was pumping water for about a week until it stopped working. At this point, the children filled the casing with gravel. This account did not match up with what actually happened so when a man joined us at the well, I had Juma ask him for his take on the two wells. He told us that he was a part of this community at the time of the first well drill. Regarding the women and their conflicting account, Juma suspects they were either not present during our third well drilling or were not informed of the actual story for whatever reason.
The well was drilled in September and during the drilling there was an issue with the water quality - the pump was mixing the water and the soil together causing the water that came out to be impure. Thankfully the well drillers noticed the problem and fixed the issue. Since then, women and children from about 200 households take water from this water source. They use this clean water for drinking, both for human and livestock.
When asked how this well has changed their lives, the women replied that the water they now get from this well is clean which has drastically reduced the number of waterborne diseases in the community. Furthermore, they no longer have to walk to the riverbed where they would dig shallow hand dug holes and painstakingly scoop small cups of dirty water into their jerry cans. Now that they have a safe, clean water source nearby, more children are able to go school with about 250 students in primary school.
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- Impact Assessment (M&E) Phase Project completed on 12 Sep, 2011 Implementation Phase
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Stephanie Ng of The Samburu ProjectImplementation Status: in_progress Tue 01 Feb 2011, Almost 14 Years ago
Kristen Kosinski's Visit- February 2011
-Well was never completed
-Driller left hole unsecured and it was tampered with; driller was unable to pipe and install pump.
-Well will be cleared and equipped in August 2011. - Implementation Phase Project started on 1 Aug, 2008 Preparation Phase
Funded by The Samburu Project, The Samburu Project drilled and installed a shallow well equipped with a handpump in this community.
Narrative
Community members, especially women and children, used to walk 8 km each way- now they only walk 500m. Water is used for cooking, washing and school children. Many people have started home gardens. They use extra time to gather firewood and sell it at the market (sometimes as charcoal).
Sustainability
Creating and measuring long-term impact
The community agrees by contract to pay for maintenance costs. Each well committee collects approximately $250 per year for this purpose. In order to ensure well functionality and monitor its use, The Samburu Project spends approximately $160 per year per well. This comes from our general fund, which is maintained by individual donations.
Other Issues
Unusual and unexpected issues faced during project execution
The well has broken once because the rubber wore out. It also comes loose occasionally. It was fixed in less than a day.
Learnings
Knowledge of project and process for sharing
Only men are trained to fix the well but it is also necessary to train some women. They have added a water bottle to the spout to direct the flow of water and have added a pipe to bring water to the washing area. They would like to add a bigger, permanent pipe.
Impact
People Impacted: 1500
People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 1500
The main objective of the project is to provide clean, safe drinking water.
People Getting Sanitation: 1500
Improved sanitation has been an ancillary benefit of community water availability.
People Getting Other Benefits: 1500
Maintenance/Operating Costs Annual, in US$: $410
Creating and measuring long-term impact
The community agrees by contract to pay for maintenance costs. Each well committee collects approximately $250 per year for this purpose. In order to ensure well functionality and monitor its use, The Samburu Project spends approximately $160 per year per well. This comes from our general fund, which is maintained by individual donations.
Funding
- funded:
- $12,500
- Community:
- $1,850
- Final Cost:
- $14,350