Oxfam is installing a number of low-maintenance BluePumps at sites set out by Turkana’s County Government
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Oxfam has installed one of the biggest solar pumping systems in Kenya at Lodwar. The panels are able to generate 46KW
The Firefly hybrid power generator installed at Kakuma to run the pump. The Firefly is able to charge its batteries using solar panels, the grid or a generator
Laying a new 2.2km water pipeline to connect an elevated steel storage tank to the town of Nabulon in Turkana
The solar panel array installed at a borehole in Nakwamekwi. The borehole is now pumping water at a rate of 10 cubic metres an hour
Children in Kakuma drink water from a pipe before the final connection is made. Oxfam has installed a BluePump in the village
Communities in Turkana, northern Kenya – and women and children in particular – are seeing significant improvements in their lives as a result of the work being done by the Oxfam team to provide sustainable access to water.
In Lodwar, a high-yielding borehole drilled by Oxfam in Nabulon has been connected to an elevated steel storage tank via a 2.2km pipeline which supplies the town. Solar panels were erected that are able to generate 46KW – one of the biggest solar pumping systems in Kenya – and crystal-clear groundwater is now gushing through the pipes at a rate of 16 litres per second, or 60 cubic metres an hour.
Two more boreholes, in Nabulon and Nakwamekwi, have already been equipped with solar pumping systems and connected to Lodwar’s distribution network, into which they are pumping water at a rate of 24 cubic metres an hour and 10 cubic metres an hour respectively. Each borehole pumps to a reservoir serving a particular neighbourhood, but surplus water from one zone can be used to meet needs in another. An estimated 30,000 people, possibly more, are now benefiting from the three boreholes.
Fireflies and BluePumps
The Turkana County Executive Member for Water visited SWIFT sites at Lodwar in June, and was very pleased with the activities underway. She was particularly impressed by the Firefly being used at Kakuma to run the pump – a hybrid power generator able to charge its batteries using solar panels, the grid or a generator.
Oxfam is supporting the Kakuma Water and Service Providers (KAWASEPRO) by equipping two boreholes, one with the Firefly generator and the other with a solar-powered pump. One of the boreholes was recently connected to an elevated steel tank which is now supplying water to the village of Kabokorit, where the community previously had to rely on water from another village 5km away.
Oxfam is also installing low-maintenance BluePumps at sites set out by the County Government, including at Kakuma and Lomin. Oxfam’s MEAL advisor Emmanuel Kivunga undertook a field visit to Turkana in June and spent time in both villages, together with Oxfam’s public health officer and public health engineer team leader, talking to community members, Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) and Sanitation Promoters.
School attendance and hygiene debates
Villagers in Lomin described to Emmanuel how, before the hand pump had been fitted, they had to walk for at least two hours to collect water from a nearby village, carrying 20-litre jerry-cans that would have to serve their families for a day. Mothers would set out early to collect the water, accompanied by their children, who as a result were unable to attend school.
The new pump in the village has reduced the time needed to collect water to less than half an hour. In addition, the women of the village have created an improvised school next to the water point, so that their children no longer need to miss out on an education.
The Oxfam team has also been busy with public health promotion. Emmanuel witnessed a lively discussion about hand-washing at Nabulon Girls Primary School, during which the well-informed proposers of the motion ‘Hand-washing at critical times is a life-saving initiative’ successfully won the debate.
From monitoring to motorbikes
In addition to his field visits, Emmanuel facilitated two days of monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) training while he was in Turkana. The first day focused on Oxfam’s approach to MEAL, including how to improve monitoring systems, indicators and MEAL plans, while the second included an in-depth review of the WASH reports produced by SWIFT’s field team, to refine their understanding of the monitoring issues involved.
Oxfam’s sanitation technician, Pius Nzuki, also arrived in Turkana in June and has since been training local masons to produce domed squatting slabs of ferrocement (a combination of cement and wire) that can be used in pit latrines. A new technology in Turkana, this is an affordable solution that will reduce the need for timber, which is in short supply and environmentally damaging to use, as well as being prone to termite attack.
The Oxfam team conducted a capacity assessment on its partner, the Lodwar Water and Sewerage Company (LOWASCO), which identified areas the utility company needed to strengthen, and has since been supporting it to do so. LOWASCO has already reported reduced operating costs and increased revenue, which has enabled it to purchase five motorbikes for its field teams. A capacity-building plan has also been developed for the water service provider in Kakuma, KAWASEPRO.
Water ATMs in Wajir
In Wajir in the northeast of Kenya, Oxfam has installed seven solar-pumping systems. Meetings have been held to mobilise communities and take them through the water management change process, which is being conducted by the Wajir Water and Sewerage Company (WAJWASCO). Oxfam is working with WAJWASCO to strengthen its capacity and prepare it to take over management oversight of the water users’ associations.
As part of this, electronic water dispensers – or ‘water ATMs’ – have been installed in the villages of Arbajahan and Griftu under a separate programme, to make it easier for people to access water and ensure payment reaches the water utility company. The ATMs enhance the work being done under the SWIFT programme, because removing the need for money to be passed from customer to kiosk attendant reduces the risk of corruption, and providing a clear electronic record of transactions increases the transparency and accountability of the revenue collection process.
However, recently Oxfam’s work in Wajir has been affected by a serious outbreak of cholera. Combined with the poor security situation in the county, which has seen continued inter-clan clashes, the cholera outbreak has affected the Oxfam team’s schedule and reduced members’ ability to reach programme sites.
The Ministry of Health has made cholera its top priority, which has meant the department’s public health officers, who usually work in partnership with SWIFT, are not currently available. The Ministry is focused on trying to contain the outbreak, which has seen hundreds of people admitted to hospital. Wajir has a high water table, and the use of bucket toilets and pit latrines is thought to be a major contributor to the spread of cholera in the county.
