Funded by Women's Coalition for World Reform, The Samburu Project drilled and installed a shallow well equipped with a handpump in this community.
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Lucas Lekwale of The Samburu Project
- confidential
Implementation Status: completed Fri 06 Jul 2012, Almost 13 Years agoJuly Visit
Routine Visit. Well is in good working condition.
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Stephanie Ng of The Samburu Project
- confidential
Implementation Status: completed Mon 14 May 2012, About 13 Years agoStephanie Ng's Visit- May 2012
As we drove up to Embakasi Well, Lucas immediately noticed that they had begun to till several acres of land for farming. He informed me that this well community has for some time expressed their desire to have a farm and Lucas was happy to see that they took the initiative to get it started. A few meters away from the tilled soil, on slightly higher ground, was a nursery with many seedlings. As we were admiring this nursery, William Lolkiriari, one of the well committee members, came up on his motorbike. He had spotted us when we drove past his house towards the well. He pointed out the different things that they were growing in the nursery: kale, peanuts, tomatoes, peppers. The target size of this farm is 3 acres and they hope it will feed 200 people or 22-30 households. They are planning on selling the surplus vegetation in town. William expressed that the community would like a generator and a complete piping system to irrigate their farms in the hopes of expanding the harvest. Lucas conveyed to him that we are currently putting on hold any new agricultural initiatives and instead will study the harvest and impact of our current initiatives to determine their long-term impact on the community.
Before, women used to walk 6 hours to get water. Now it takes mere minutes to get to the well according to William. With the saved time, the community is working hard on this farm- as we had already noticed, William pointed out that they have begun tilling the land and started growing a variety of seeds that have already started sprouting. Personally, William is able to hire out his motorbike and make a profit with the time saved. Women can also make money by selling their bead work at town and now have time to tend to domestic duties and look after livestock.
William attested that the well has really changed community life because now more people can get jobs and earn money. The money they earn is used to pay for school fees (secondary and up) and buy more food than before. Whereas households used to be very sick from the dirty water and had very little to eat, now they can afford to eat more and are drinking clean water. Almost all of the children goes to school. William believes that there are more than 300 children in nursery and more than 350 in primary school. The ratio of boy students to girl students is 50:50 and William said that this reflects a huge increase in the number of girls that can now attend. However he pointed out that not only is school very far away – children have to walk two kilometers each way to school – but whereas primary education is paid by the government, there is a huge dropout in student enrollment after primary school because many families cannot pay for secondary school. They are hoping that the surplus they make from the farm as well as the other money-making activities they now have time to pursue will help to put more children through secondary school.
Regarding the condition of the well, initially the well had no problems. However about two years ago one of the well committee members spoiled the well by puncturing many holes in the pipes. That community member has since been replaced. Because it is very costly to replace the pipes, the community could only repair a few of the pipes. As a result, the well has not been pumping as it did when it was initially installed though the volume of water being pumped up is still very strong and the well has never stopped working. There are still 4 punctured pipes that need to be replaced. In order to replace these parts, every time we have a well drill, Lucas will request extra pipes from the well drilling company. He will do this for as long as it takes to replace these 4 punctured pipes. In terms of paying for these parts, the community normally has each household (there are more than 200 households that use this well) contribute 20 shillings per month. If however the pipes are more expensive than what they have in the fund, the well committee will raise the fees to cover the amount. Recognizing that it was one of their members that tampered with this well, the community is taking extraordinary ownership and responsibility of this well.
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Heidi Sheppard of The Samburu Project
- confidential
Implementation Status: completed Sat 26 Feb 2011, Over 14 Years agoKristen Kosinski's Visit - February 2011
On her visit Kristen met with a variety of community members, including elders, women and children. Below is the information she gathered on this visit:
-Community improved cement slab and added a lock.
-Very enthusiastic and capable community. They have done a good job of taking care of their well.
-Rubber replaced during our visit
-Community no longer suffers from diseases like cholera. The children of the community are healthy.
-They community is growing produce to sell.-
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- Impact Assessment (M&E) Phase Project completed on 15 Jul, 2007 Implementation Phase
- Implementation Phase Project started on 1 Jul, 2007 Preparation Phase
How it Works
Every field note helps building a history of activity at the project site. Every visit should result in a field note, including visits by peers and 3rd parties. Visits can be before implementation, during implementation and during operational state.
If the field note is during the operating phase of the project, then PWX considers the note as a verification note. Verification can show if the current operating state is different from that in the 'final' report and thus draw attention and resources to resolve issues.
Soon PWX AnalytiX will track the number of projects verified and combine that with the amount of time elapsed since 'completion', to summarize monitoring efforts and the sustainability of projects.
Funded by Women's Coalition for World Reform, The Samburu Project drilled and installed a shallow well equipped with a handpump in this community.
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 $160 per year per well. This comes from our general fund, which is maintained by individual donations.
Learnings
Knowledge of project and process for sharing
We are currently organizing an updated system for part replacement to decrease the time the well remains broken. More attention should be given to wells prone to overuse that is due to high population density, as they are more likely to break and more detrimental to the community when they do.
Impact
People Impacted: 1000
People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 1000
The main objective of the project is to provide clean, safe drinking water.
School Children Getting Water: 650
People Getting Sanitation: 1000
Improved sanitation has been an ancillary benefit of community water availability.
People Getting Other Benefits: 1000
Maintenance/Operating Costs Annual, in US$: $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:
- $10,500
- Community:
- $1,850
- Final Cost:
- $12,350