Funded by an anonymous donor, The Samburu Project will drill and install a shallow well equipped with a handpump in this community.

Narrative

This is a dry area. Access to clean drinking water is a nightmare. Women walk for long distances in search of water. Livestock die in huge numbers, especially during dry spells because of lack of water.

Once a well is drilled and the community has safe drinking water, the prevalence of waterborne diseases will decrease, distance to the water point will decrease significantly, and children will attend school rather than spending their time in dry riverbeds scooping water.

The water will be used for farming, drinking, washing, cooking and bathing as well as livestock usage.

  • Stephanie Ng of The Samburu Project
    • confidential
    Implementation Status: completed Thu 24 May 2012, Over 12 Years ago

    Stephanie Ng's Visit- May 2012

    When we arrived at Nolkapur Well, there was a group of warriors present. Though they were not sure how many people use this well, they noted that there are always a line of people waiting to use the well. They informed us that the water from this well is used for drinking, cooking, washing and to feed their livestock. They said that more than 1,000 cows and more than 5,000 goats drink from this well every day; during drought season, more than 1,000 camels also take water from this well.

    Before, the community would have to walk very far distances to gather water and once they found a place that had water, they would have to dig shallow holes and scoop the water into their jerrycans; this would take 6 hours each day. According to the warriors, it takes only 10 minutes for most people to come to the well and the farthest person that benefits from this well walks a maximum of one hour.

    With the time saved, the warriors can now properly look after their livestock. They are grateful for the fact that they don’t have to walk so far anymore and that the water is not only near but clean.

    When we were walking across the riverbed to get to the well, Lucas and I spotted some women digging shallow holes in front of us. We stopped and asked them why they were not taking water from this well but they did not give us a clear answer. I asked the young man who was not a warrior (you could tell by his clothing) why this was the case and he informed me that these women are using the water for tea. The water from this well is slightly salty which is still good for human consumption but bad for making tea the traditional way which is to boil the tea and water together and add the milk to the boiling water. According to him, when you add the milk to the boiling water which has some salt in it, it separates and ruins the tea.

    This well has had no problems since it was drilled and was pumping perfectly when we visited the well.

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  • Impact Assessment (M&E) Phase Project completed on 24 Oct, 2011 Implementation Phase
  • Kristen Kosinski of The Samburu Project
    • confidential
    Implementation Status: completed Sat 08 Oct 2011, About 13 Years ago

    Well Drilling Complete

    The well has been successfully drilled. Now, the 2nd team will come in to install the pump, finish the well and train the community!

  • Kristen Kosinski of The Samburu Project
    • confidential
    Implementation Status: completed Thu 06 Oct 2011, About 13 Years ago

    Well Drilling Begins

    Well drilling began today. At the time of reporting, they were at 18 meters.

  • Kristen Kosinski of The Samburu Project
    • confidential
    Implementation Status: in_progress Wed 03 Aug 2011, About 13 Years ago

    Red Tape in Well Drilling

    When Lucas went to the Water Resource Management Authority to pick up permits for our 10 wells, he first learned that the office was no longer in Nanyuki but had moved to Isiolo. When he finally arrived in Isiolo he was met with many challenges. For our previous four well drills, we have always produced the Hydrogeological Reports, an application and wrote a check and permits were given on the spot. Not this time! Not until this morning, 21 days after Lucas' initial visit to the WRMA, did we actually receive permission to begin drilling (still waiting for permits!).

    Lucas had to go back to EVERY community and get titles for the land we are drilling on. The challenging aspect of this is that no one "owns" the land in Samburu as it is the land of the community. He wrote agreements with the area chiefs, area counselors and key elders which stated that they were donating the land to the designated women’s group. When he went back to the WRMA with the Title Deeds, they then told him that he had to get a Constitution from EVERY women's group!!! Fortunately, Naibosho Women's Group in Wamba, an umbrella organization has representatives from all of the area's women’s groups. Instead of going back to ALL the communities again, he was able to use their Constitution. And lastly, a new association called the Water Resource User Authority has been formed. Lucas had to get three members of their committee to sign a letter saying that The Samburu Project has done a good job. Unfortunately, the three people who needed to sign live in three different places; Laikepia, Maralal and Archer’s Post which caused major logistical challenges.

    After Lucas spent week gathering the necessary materials and return to the WRMA office in Isiolo, it turns out that the person who is in charge was away for some time. Then, when he returned yesterday, after Lucas spent three days waiting for him, the computers in the office were down.

    All part of the adventures in well drilling...onward and upward!

  • Kristen Kosinski of The Samburu Project
    • confidential
    Implementation Status: in_progress Fri 22 Jul 2011, About 13 Years ago

    Site Selection DAY 1

    After surveying 3 possible locations, Kariuki and Lucas identified a viable well site.

  • Kristen Kosinski of The Samburu Project
    • confidential
    Implementation Status: in_progress Fri 22 Jul 2011, About 13 Years ago

    Site Selection DAY 1

    After surveying 3 possible locations, Kariuki and Lucas identified a viable well site.

    • Nolkapur...
    • Nolkapur...
    • Nolkapur...
    • Nolkapur...
    • Nolkapur...
  • Implementation Phase Project started on 22 Jul, 2011 Preparation Phase

Funded by an anonymous donor, The Samburu Project will drill and install a shallow well equipped with a handpump in this community.

Narrative

This is a dry area. Access to clean drinking water is a nightmare. Women walk for long distances in search of water. Livestock die in huge numbers, especially during dry spells because of lack of water.

Once a well is drilled and the community has safe drinking water, the prevalence of waterborne diseases will decrease, distance to the water point will decrease significantly, and children will attend school rather than spending their time in dry riverbeds scooping water.

The water will be used for farming, drinking, washing, cooking and bathing as well as livestock usage.

Other Issues

Unusual and unexpected issues faced during project execution

This is 1 of 3 wells we will drill in the Sere Olipi location, a new project area for The Samburu Project. Though it is only 45 km from our headquarters in Wamba, there are no roads that go directly between the two towns. It takes about 10 hours to walk from Wamba to Sere Olipi; by road it takes a couple of hours, assuming there are no unforeseen issues. There are a number of challenges for The Samburu Project in Sere Olipi which are best described in Lucas Lekwale's email below from August 28th, 2010:

"Kristen...

I hope this finds you well. There are a number of challenges that we encountered while doing hydrological survey in Sere Olipi that I would like to bring to your attention. The challenges are as follows:

1. Former Projects - In 2006, Masaai Barefoot Technology (MBT) surveyed more than 6 wells in Sere Olipi. The community entry point was poor, only a few politically correct people were involved in site selection which the community was not happy about. The people involved selected sites in or near their homesteads. This project never kicked off despite community clearing bushes, making roads, collecting sand, hardcore and stones for building. The community felt exploited, cheated upon and empty.

Our challenge:
It was very difficult for me to convince the community on the integrity of our program because they had a bad experience with the MBT project. In fact, they were reluctant on our mobilization. It took a lot of energy and experience to finally make them understand.

Our Way Forward:
This community needs more visits for mobilization/sensitization.

2. Bad Terrain - as seen in the pictures for Nairisha Community, it was very difficult for us to access this point using our 4-wheel drive cars. The road is bad and so is the bush.

Our Way Forward:
We need to go to this community early and make the roads passable, navigable and ready for drilling in mid-August.

3. New Area/Virgin for Shallow Wells - Sere Olipi is a new area for shallow wells and boreholes, therefore this concept is new to the community.

Our Way Forward:
There is need to do more community meetings to educate members about the wells -their purpose, maintenance requirements, and future benefits.

Recommendations:

- There is a need to mobilize these communities early next month, the latest being on August 5, 2011 for bush clearance, collection of sand and hardcore.

- Have a series of community meetings in Sere Olipi and Archer's Post bringing on board women, administration, opinion leaders and all stakeholders prior to drilling. This will give us a head start as well as advocate what we do.

All my Love
Lucas"

Impact

People Impacted: 500

People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 500

100 Households @ 5 people per house
Data Source: Community Elders & Local Government

School Children Getting Water: 40

Lengaya Preschool

People Getting Sanitation: 500

Improved sanitation has been an ancillary benefit of community water availability.

People Getting Other Benefits: 500

Water is the foundation from which all things grow. We expect that this community will receive many benefits beyond access to clean, safe drinking water.

Funding

funded:
$13,000
Community:
$1,850
Final Cost:
$14,850

Plan/Proposal