COMMUNITY WATER PROJECT

The 6 Kenya Community Water project is an Earth Dam whose ideas came from the community. Upon implementation, the project will provide water to the community for both domestic and livestock purposes. It will also provide water for enhancing environment through provision of tree planting both for fruits and shade.

The community specifically Women, will benefit in traveling to short distances to the water points. Since water will be available near several homesteads, vegetable growing especially kales, tomatoes, onions will be grown thus increase nutritional value to young children. Community will increase their efforts in rearing their livestock as a result of having water closer to them. In turn they will sell the animals at a good price thus increasing their income and profit margins.

Men will result in brick making in the area which is a booming income generating activities in the area.

This project will bring about a lasting solution to the community in the said area. The planned activities will include construction of 6 earth dams of 15,000m3 each, Installation of Hand Pump, cattle trough, sanitation component, training committee members, a forestation and fencing the dam. Duration expected to do these activities is 6 months (24 weeks) each.

The projects will benefit 8,052 people all distributed in the six villages namely Kyandani, Ikuusya, Nyanyaa, Thonoa, kwa Matuva and Mukuni villages. Other direct beneficiaries of this project include 6 market centers, 8 primary schools with a total of 2,980 pupils and 4 secondary school.

Access to and availability of clean drinking water particularly in this area is a constant threat to both livestock and human. Water sources in the area are scarce and difficulty to access. The identified project area has been for years experiencing unreliable and erratic rainfalls. The unpredictable rain pattern in this area has prompted acute shortage of water for domestic purposes.

75% of the target population travel to over 4 km daily to their primary water source. Women mostly bear the burden of fetching water from unprotected wells dug along the river beds, thus indicating unsafe and unreliable water for domestic purposes. Capacity to carry water back home is limited and difficulty since this is done by family ox-carts and donkeys which on average carry 80 – 160 lts per day.

The total amount of water available per household per day is thus exceedingly insufficient to provide for the needs of the average nine (9) persons per family per day. Lack of clean drinking water for both community and animals was identified as one of the factors that hamper development in this area. People in this area travel for long distance to fetch water for domestic purposes. As a result, they waste many hours per day which otherwise could have been utilized in doing gainful productive and economic activities. These long distances to water sources result in a considerable decrease in productive hours for farm works.

Common water borne diseases in this area are rampant. People waste a lot of money to treat themselves leaving no extra money for both credit facilities from the main stream financial institutions. Rain water in this area is counted as the usual primary source of water for both domestic and livestock purposes. The problem of insufficient water becomes clearer considering that the regions annual rainfall is estimated between 500-800 mm and it is generally recognized that undertaking gainful agricultural activities in an area with such a range of rainfall is rather precarious.