Esumeyia Primary School Well

A new well has (finally) been completed at the Esumeyia Primary School in Kakamega.  This well now serves the 720 students at the school and their parents, a total of over 1,000 people!

The well is located about 19km from Kakamega in Western Kenya.  It is one of a cluster of wells we continue to build at schools in the area.

The project is being overseen by a local water committee of 4 women and 3 men.  They are responsible for the management and maintenance of the well.  The committee mobilized the community and helped raise the initial $300USD needed to complete the geological surveys and permit process.  This local investment of time and money brings ownership to the project.  It helps ensure the well project will be maintained over the long-term, providing a sustainable water solution.

The school leaders have been instructed how to keep the area around the well safe from contamination and will receive follow-up training in sanitation and hygiene later this Fall.

Previously, the students gathered water from over 2.5km away at a passing stream.

Our implementing team said... "We interviewed the school 'Head Teacher' and a student.  They both said that their new water source is going to provide clean and safe water which they know will be  reliable.  They also said that the issues such as Cholera and Dysentry caused by their previous water source...they've given them a bye.'"

This well presented many challenges during construction which led to extensive delays in getting water to flow.  After the original borehole was drilled, one section of casing was apparently not properly seated.  This caused the well, over the following weeks, to back-fill with sand and gravel pack.  Our team returned to the site and had no choice but to remove the casing and drill out the hole again.  It's part of this work.  Sometimes things don't go as planned.  Having a local drill team however, meant we could get back to the well and fix it in weeks, not months or years.

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Project Photos

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Recent Project Updates

03/23/2011: Esumeyia Project Repaired

Wells break. We wouldn't know it if we didn't revisit our project sites.

In a few of the wells we installed about two years ago, we found that a former crew (no longer employed by our partner) had used inferior parts on the inside of the wells they installed.  The rods that connect the pump to the handle were not rust-proof.  So, when our partner recently visited the community here they found rust colored water and knew something wasn't quite right.

They reported back to us and we took the opportunity to carry out another sanitation and hygiene training session in the community while the crew replaced the rusted out parts.

We're thankful to donors who "Give Where Needed".  It allows us to check up on and repair wells, keeping our projects working.  It's the hard part of this work...and it matters the most.