Spring protection

Spring (unprotected)

A great peril to the health of the people is their daily water supply. Worldwide about 1.8 million people die each year from diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases like typhoid, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO 2004). About 88 per cent of these fatalities occurred due to unsafe water, and in developing countries it is the children who are predominantly affected. A significant number of these diseases and fatalities could be avoided by improved access to a safe drinking water supply, adequate sanitation facilities and better hygiene practices.

In the Western Province only 20 per cent of the rural population have access to clean drinking water. Due to the Kenyan government’s traditional neglect of public water supplies most water sources are not walled off or protected.

SOF-DI observed that even though water supplies in their own communities were extremely contaminated farmers habitually covered their springs in an attempt to protect the water. A major focus of SOFDI’s is carrying out the work of protecting springs and in this way providing access to clean water for the people. Depending on the area and the water capacity, a single protected spring can supply water to 100 to 400 people

Spring (protected)

A protected spring changes the life of the people:

• Significant improvement of health (fewer cases of typhoid, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases.
• No need to boil water (less firewood consumption).
• Fewer breeding places for mosquitoes due to the drainage of marshlands, and consequently fewer cases of malaria.
• Fewer incidents of snakebite.
• No drowning of children when fetching water.

SOF-DI’s eight steps program to develop a protected spring:

• Application to SOF-DI by the local community concerned
• The spring will be inspected by SOF-DI.
• Establishment of an eight-member committee, which takes responsibility for expenditure for maintaining the protected spring.
• The municipality contributes the required locally-available materials, i.e. stones, sand, earth.
• All other materials are provided by SOF-DI: cement, wire netting, pipes, etc.
• A specially trained bricklayer encases the spring, with the villagers being obliged to help.
• A tablet inscribed with the name of the spring and the donor is set in concrete.
• The spring is officially inaugurated by SOF-DI.
• Hygiene workshop
• Course in hygiene and sanitation
• Once a year the spring is inspected by SOF-DI and an account of its condition is given.

Gallery

Protected spring	Project of water