Provide clean & safe water for 1500 women&children

The Provide safe and clean water for 1500 children and women project aimed at improving water supply and sustaining it to serve the Mutulani community in Makueni County, Kenya has continued to enjoy the benefits of the water since despite the extreme scarcity of water across the Country due to the prolonged drought which continued up to mid of March 2023

The water supply has been adequate and continuous despite the prolonged drought that has not been experienced for over a decade. Mutulani Secondary School, Mutulani Primary School children and Mutulani Dispensary have been the major beneficiaries of this water. Additionally, the community benefitted when all other water sources dried up. 

“At the height of the drought experienced in 2022 and early 2023, the community members near the local market were also able to use the water after all the water sources in the area went dry. Parents/guardiansof Mutulani primary school with dire need of water especially the old and Persons with Disabilities were also allowed to draw water from the school, children were also allowed to carry drinking water from school with their containers” as reported by the Mutulani Water Project Management Committee Chairperson. 

The Nursing in Charge stated that the dispensary recorded a decline in water borne diseases from among the students. However, there was a notable increase in gastrointestinal diseases as a result of poor eating due to the famine experienced thus need for more interventions to guarantee food security. 

“Other than the general hospital use of water, it has also supported the survival of our trees and flowers in the MutulaniDispensary compound having almost zero survival rate of the trees planted around the facility. This is a boost to environmental conservation which was part of the project’s objective” reported by the Nurse in Charge, Mutulani Dispensary. 

Notably the major strategies that have made a boost to the continuous water supply from the borehole is a rapid conservation in the nearby Muumandu forest among other small conservation efforts in the three institutions and its surrounding community through tree planting. Find more information about our project on: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/integrated-water-and-health-for-1500-women-and-children  

The next steps for the Mutulani project and the community include;

• Construct a sand dam sponsored by the community professionals to boost water supply along Kyanduu stream
• Continue planting trees and nurture them to enhance their survival
• Undertake the second periodic maintenance of the borehole
• Continue laying final strategies by the Project Management Committee to enhance project sustainability and project support during the upcoming campaigns

The Provide safe and clean water for 1500 children and women projectaimed at improving water supply and sustaining it to serve the Mutulani community in Makueni County, Kenya has continued to enjoy the benefits of the water since, despite the extreme scarcity of water across the Country due to the prolonged drought.

The following have taken place in the area in the reporting period:

• Installed Meters for Mutulani Primary and Secondary schools to monitor the institutions’ water usage that will lead to decisions on how to give the general public water and ensure sustainability.
• Held a Water Users and stakeholder meeting to strategize on sustainability of the water and future projects.
• Mutulani Children closed schools with lots of ease due to the continuous water supply from the Borehole.

 “Water supply from the Borehole has given the school operations peace of mind in the driest year of our lifetime. We are thankful to PEN and our development partners including our individual donors accorded” Mr Stephen Masaku, Mutulani Board of Management Chair.

• The prolonged drought that has been felt throughout the year has continued up to this end of the year. The failed October - December rains which came once and disappeared is making the planted crops in November dehydrate. The situation has resulted to relief food distribution by the government and other humanitarian institutions.
• The new government has also established strategies to address the effects of climate change through water harvesting and targets to plant 5Billion trees to improve vegetation cover

The next steps for the Mutulani project and the community include;

• Construct a sand dam sponsored by the community professionals to boost water supply along Kyanduu stream
• Nurture the planted trees to enhance their survival in the midst of the water shortage
• Strategize to participate in next year’s GlobalGiving fundraising campaigns

 Thank you GlobalGiving Team and our donors for your support throughout the year. Wishing you all a Merry Christmass and a prosperous 2023

The Provide safe and clean water for 1500 children and women projectaimed at improving water supply and sustaining it to serve the Mutulani community in Makueni County, Kenya has continued to enjoy the benefits of the water since, despite the extreme scarcity of water across the Country due to the prolonged drought.

The following have taken place in the area in this quarter of the year:

• Famine has continued striking the country resulting a real struggle to get food and water for humans and livestock due to prolonged drought where two rain seasons have failed. It is reported that a 20 liter water gallon is retailing at KES 60/= in Mutulani area and major parts of Makueni County, however during the holidays when the children were not in school, the Mutulani community were given water at the Mutulani Market center to supplement their water needs for free by the Project Management Committee (PMC). This was a form of rewarding the community for the support they have been offering the project in form of unskilled labor during the project implementation.

“The Borehole water is giving Mutulani community a lot of hope in the future because looking at Mutulani area, there was a time when women could give birth and water was to be brought from home for the women to bath. We received water for one week when schools had closed and it was a big relief to everyone. We will continue supporting the project to ensure its continuity because we have seen its significance now that water scarcity is a reality,” Mr. James Mutungi, a resident and Businessman in Mutulani Market.

• On a positive note, the 2022 Election resulted into a peaceful one even after a petition was filed at the Supreme Court. Minimal incidences of protests were witnessed which demonstrated a high level of maturity by Kenyans. This, to some extent, was attributed to the tough economic times experienced during the electioneering period as well as the respect to the independent institutions in the Country, community sensitization among other factors.
• During the period, the Mutulani community continued to enjoy the water across all the three institutions. The primary school has benefitted through the practical Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) activities which use water as well as demonstrations by the secondary school Agriculture, Home science and environmental classes, the dispensary has also been accessing water for all their needs after it was connected.
• The dispensary and the schools have made substantial savings by having access to water. Since the connection of water to the dispensary, it has used about 146 cubic meters of water thus substantially saving resources that can be channeled to other uses. From the main meter readings, the community has accessed over 940 cubic meters of water since July 2020.

“Our Health facility has received continuous water supply throughout this driest and prolonged period we have experienced in the year. The drought is a disaster that has hit our area but we are happy as an institution that through the Borehole water that was connected to us through PEN has eased operations and adherence to all health and wash requirements. We are therefore always obliged by the support and call upon the same to be extended to other surrounding health facilities and communities” Sr. Faith Mutiso, the current Mutulani Dispensary Nurse in charge.

The next steps for the Mutulani project and the community include;

• Install Meters for the Mutulani primary and secondary schools in order to monitor the institutions’ water usage that will lead to decisions on how to give the general public water and ensure sustainability. The Project Management Committee have so far reported that the supply from the borehole is promising since this is the driest year experienced for close to 10 years having all other water sources in Mutulani exhausted.
• A community meeting with all the stakeholders to finalize on sustainability of the water and increase the water supply within the area.
• Construct a sand dam that is being sponsored by a Mutulani Professional to boost water supply along Kyanduu stream
• Continue preparing to undertake the annual environmental conservation activities (tree planting & climate smart farming) after the onset of the October-December rains towards reduction of climate change effects and recharge the borehole water.
• Plan to participate in future GlobalGiving fundraising campaigns

 We are much obliged by the continued support by the GlobalGiving team and our donors. Thank you

The Provide safe and clean water for 1500 children and women projectaimed at improving water supply and sustaining it to serve the Mutulani community in Makueni County, Kenya has continued to enjoy the benefits of the water since its extension to the Mutulani Dispensary was completed. The Dispensary is where the water has directly served every community member.

The following have taken place in the area since February this year:

•       The long rains which occur between February and April every year failed resulting to serious crop failure where famine has already struck in Mutulani and major parts of the country.
•       2022 being an Election year in Kenya, political activities have grown from moderate to high where official campaign period began towards end of May 2022.
•       There has been an economic shift where prices of all commodities have risen.

The above issues resulted to a community meeting in early June that was aimed at holding dialogues on building community resilience after such occurrences and fast track connecting Mutulani Market with water for general public use. To achieve this, the community committed to undertake the following:

•       Construct a manhole at the distribution point to safeguard the gate valves distributing water to the various institutions from interference of students. This activity is underway led by the Project Management Committee and MAWE CBO.
•       MAWE CBO to spearhead tree planting activities in efforts of recharging water as one of the identified technologies and undertake political education to ensure that leaders of integrity are put in office during the forthcoming election as a way of safeguarding public resources
•       The community agreed to participate in the upcoming fundraising campaigns as well as prepare well for sustainable agricultural practices such as water harvesting to reverse climate change effects.
•       It was also agreed that the community would not connect water to the market before monitoring its yield until the next rain season to determine its viability to meet all the institutions water needs since the dry season is expected to be longer than usual.

Thank you GlobalGiving and our donors for supporting this noble cause. We still request for continued support to realize fully the main goal of this project. We remain indebted

The Provide safe and clean water for 1500 children and women Project aimed at improving water supply and sustaining it to serve the Mutulani community in Makueni County, Kenya has made considerable progress within this reporting period (November 2021-February 2022).

The Mutulani Dispensary, a critical infrastructure and health services provider for the community, is now connected to a continuous and sustainable source of water, the water being the borehole drilled at the Mutulani Secondary School. This water will be used to enhance service provision at the dispensary with the maternity wing, being a consumer of the highest amount of water being the biggest beneficiary.

“Our maternity wing requires constant cleaning after each of the delivery. Having adequate water means that we will be able to maintain the very high standard of sanitation required of such a medical facility,” says the Nurse-in-Charge of Mutulani Dispensary Mr. Martin Ngulu.

The availability of clean water at the school has also seen a new trend on water usage emerge. The pupils are now carrying drinking water home as compared to before when they carried water, which was muddy thus not safe, to school.

“It was surprising for us to note that the pupils now carry water from the borehole to drink back at home. They state that it is sweeter than the water they would fetch from other sources and we now have to let them fetch the water using their drinking bottles at the end of the day,” notes Madam Justina Kamuya, Head teacher of Mutulani Primary School.

The Nurse-in-Charge of the Dispensary affirms the possible reason for this shift in behavior.

“The water from the borehole contains good levels of minerals (sodium + chloride) that are good for the development of the children and iodine that helps balance the electrolytes in the human body. This makes the water tastes sweeter and has possibly led to the reduction of water-borne diseases as salty water leads to rehydration and maintaining body fluid balance,” says the Nurse-in-Charge of Mutulani Dispensary, Mr. Martin Ngulu

In terms of sustainability, the Mutulani Welfare (MAWE) CBO, the Mutulani Schools and the Government officials are currently working of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cater for the sustainable sharing of the water and the maintenance of the borehole beyond the project lifespan. A Water Users Committee is also being drafted to constitute representatives of the schools, MAWE CBO, Local administrators and community members.

“It is important that we guarantee the continuity of this project to ensure that those who will come long after we leave continue to share this resource and that likelihood of conflicts arising on its usage are minimized,” says Mr. Julius Mutwii, Principal of Mutulani Secondary School.

During this reporting period, a video documentary (available HERE) and a shorter clip (available HERE) that shows the progress made so far by the project was done.

The next steps in this project are to connect water to the community at a water point located at the local market, to construct a modern toilet for the schools that can produce biogas and help in recycling the water, and to create a water recharge system for the borehole through initiating tree planting exercises.

 We sincerely thank our donors and still make a humble request for continued support to this noble cause of transforming Mutulani area towards achieving sustainable water for all. We also extend our appreciation to the GlobalGiving Program Team for the continued support so far.

Attached are two documents:- the detailed report with photos and a testimony written by a beneficiary student, Ms. Sharon Ngovi, a high school finalist at Mutulani Secondary School who has received school fees support drawn from the savings after the High School stopped purchasing water.  

 Warm regards

• The detailed report with photos (DOCX)