Water flows to the kiosk in Merille, Marsabit County, for the first time in two years, after Concern rehabilitated the water system
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The Concern team replaces the fittings along the water transmission pipeline at Merille as part of its rehabilitation of the system
Concern Worldwide conducts hygiene promotion in Kinisa, Marsabit County, under the Community-Led Total Sanitation approach
A household latrine constructed under the Community-Led Total Sanitation approach implemented by Concern in Madho Adhi, Marsabit
Concern Worldwide has completed the rehabilitation of a water system in Merille, in Marsabit County, northern Kenya. This community of around 6,300 people previously relied on a borehole and a private well (over 2km away), both of which are highly saline and not recommended for human use.
The Concern team rehabilitated the 50 cubic metre tank, painting it with bitumen to make it waterproof and replacing faulty fittings along the water transmission pipeline to the kiosk. On 26 August 2015, water flowed to the kiosk in Merille for the first time in two years, and 1400 people are now receiving 15 litres per person per day. In addition to safe drinking water, the benefits include reduced queuing time and a shorter journey to collect water, with increased time and safety for women and children as a result.
‘Triggering’ to encourage latrine construction
Concern has also been conducting hygiene promotion in 32 villages under the SWIFT programme. In 21 villages, it has completed ‘triggering’ under the Community-Led Total Sanitation approach – the process of stimulating a sense of disgust among community members as they confront the facts about open defecation, with the aim of encouraging the construction and use of locally built, low-cost household latrines.
Concern and its partners are now tracking latrine construction in those villages. At the beginning of October 2015, 108 latrines had been constructed and a total of 298 pits excavated. Concern is following up to encourage communities who have finished excavation to construct the slabs and superstructures needed to complete the latrines.
Rains have delayed construction of latrines in some places, with the loose soil structure collapsing easily. For reasons of safety and sustainability, Concern has engaged a mason to make concrete slabs for the villagers, and train local artisans to make the slabs in future. The local slabs used currently are made of thin sticks laid across the pit, which are both dangerous and unsustainable.
Watering 100,000 livestock
It’s not only people who are seeing the benefits of the SWIFT programme; Concern and its local partner have installed an animal trough in Dadach Elele in Marsabit where over 100,000 livestock will be watered. The impressive trough was constructed near a tap-stand rehabilitated by Concern, in order to support the separation of borehole water use by humans and animals. Previously, both people and livestock accessed water from a highly contaminated, mud-dug pothole.
Concern has also met with several communities in the Kalacha area where it plans to equip shallow wells with BluePumps. High water levels caused by the long rains had caused well-deepening work to be suspended, but the communities at El Manyatta Jille, El Manyatta Boji and Kutur have all now been mobilized in preparation for the work to be re-started.
Hybrid solar power has been installed and is now pumping water at four sites: Maikona (561 beneficiaries), Sanjir (2130 beneficiaries), Golole (2400 beneficiaries) and Nana (3200 beneficiaries).
Training natural leaders and role models
Concern has also been working with the Marsabit County Department of Water and local partner PACIDA (Pastoralist Community Initiative and Development Assistance) to train community leaders in the sub-county of Laisamis to drive change under the Community-Led Total Sanitation approach.
A total of 30 people from six communities participated in the training, all of whom emerged as natural leaders and role models during the ‘triggering’ process. The trainees, who were drawn from Ndikir, Lontolio, Lekuchula, Lependera, Soito and Ballah, are now working together with community facilitators to help end open defecation.
They are doing so by initiating discussions within their communities about the rationale for a ‘total sanitation’ approach, analysing the conditions within their villages and the impact of open defecation on public health and the local environment. They are also liaising with staff at Concern, PACIDA and the Ministry of Health during follow-up activities to support sustainability.
In addition, Concern has trained six members of water users’ associations in Golole in water-resource management, operation and maintenance, and water policy in Kenya. Its sub-county water office at Moyale worked with PACIDA to conduct a four-day training session with members of the Water User Committee of Nana village in July.
