Provide clean & safe water for 1500 women&children

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