Kenya

Background:
The village of Ligoma is a densely populated area, with the majority of its residents living below the poverty line. Therefore, piped water has been no more than a dream for the community. Prior to the project, many residents suffered from poor health, malnutrition and poor sanitation, and there was a low standard of public and environmental hygiene management. Another problem was poor management of resources such as water sources and land, as well as animal and human waste. Human and livestock waste were getting into the open water of Kagoma Spring because children were defecating within the spring environment and people were doing their washing at the spring. Therefore, 90% of the population living in Ligoma had no access to safe water. Each villager strove to fetch water for domestic use very early in the morning before the water changed colour, because residents(including Ligoma primary school pupils) fetched water using all sorts of containers; some containing washing detergents, oils and other dirt which contaminated Kogoma Spring. This resulted in a high prevalence of water and sanitation-related ailments like amoebic dysentery diarrhea, typhoid, cholera and bilharzia. Approximately 80% of hospital attendance at the nearby Mutumbu Dispensary was related to water, sanitation and hygiene.

Before the project:

Kogoma Spring before construction	Awareness of sanitation at Kogoma spring

Project Overview:
The project was planned to be implemented during the dry season between October and March, but surprisingly the short rains of August extended all the way to January. A series of floods interfered with construction, because an unusual amount of water gushing out from the springs caused problems for the technicians.
Four meetings to create awareness were held, though the turn-out for each was smaller than expected due to the heavy rains experienced from August 2019 to January 2020.
After completion of the project, we took a water sample to do a quality test. According to the results, the water from Kogoma Spring needs to be treated properly before it can be drunk. The beneficiaries are aware of this.
The management committee has responsibility for monitoring management of the spring, management of contributions raised for repairs and maintenance, and organizing meetings about spring maintenance. Youth volunteers are also involved in daily monitoring and maintenance of the spring on a rotational basis.

During the project:

Skilled personnel constructing Kogoma Spring	Constructing the spring with village volunteers

 Main activities:
・Completed and fenced Kogoma Spring
・Four Meetings to create awareness
・Water quality test
・Management committee

After the project:

Completed Kogoma Spring and users	Kogoma Spring user fetching water

• We had been given empty promises by many politicians, including the local MCA concerning the building of Kogoma Spring. We are now being supported by Japan, thousands of miles away! Irrespective of the distance they can still visualize our plight! Long live Japan Water Forum.

• This is the first community project to be initiated during my tenure in office, and its success is a credit to my leadership. Thanks Eco-Friendly and Japan Water Forum.

• It is great that any time I need water, I find it clean and can fetch it easily, unlike before the spring was built when the water was dirty. May God bless you as you continue with your good work!