Kenya Water Supply Project

CATEGORY: Health

Log in or register to follow or vote for this project.

Engineers Without Borders Arizona State University seeks to provide relief to the extreme water shortage in Bondo, Kenya by implementation of rainwater catchment systems and renovation of local surface dams.

Standings & Awards

591 out of 591 in Africa
284 out of 284 in Health
573 out of 573 in Pilot
992 out of 992 in Charitable
4003 out of 4003 Overall

0

VOTES

Engineers Without Borders Arizona State University

Using information and technology to create healthier, more sustainable, and more fulfilling lives.

In Kenya there is the proverb, “Maji ni uhai.” Translated to English, it means, “Water is life”. This value on water permeates every aspect of their culture. Clean water affects not only their general well-being but their entire livelihood. Most mornings, the young girls and women of the community must walk over ten miles to collect water for a single day. This search for water exposes schoolgirls to rape cases; encourages school dropouts and early marriages; and increases contact with HIV, AIDS, and other diseases.

Engineers Without Borders ASU’s vision is a world in which the communities we serve have the capacity to meet their basic human needs and our members have enriched global perspectives. By intimately connecting implementation, design, and education, we aim to remedy this severe water shortage through the installation of rain water catchment facilities and the rehabilitation of a local surface dam. In the spring of 2011, a handful of our members performed an assessment trip to the community. Over the past summer, we blue-printed sustainable and fiscally feasible designs and those designs have been approved by professional engineers.

Even though other organizations have previously implemented similar projects, more than 50% of these fail within five years. What makes our project unique is our emphasis on community involvement and education.

We will be training the community members to install and maintain the water technology. This will be done through encouraging the community to participate in construction and provide hands-on training for maintaining the system. In addition, we will be training engineering students from the local technical college in surface dam design. Not only that, but our designs are accessible enough that the community can undertake similar projects on their own in the future. They have the tools available to them; all they need is the catalyst of education.

The rainwater catchment system will be located in and owned by the Bondo Teacher’s Training College. We have appointed the head of the college to make all decisions concerning the system, tank, and water collected. The dams being renovated are entrusted to the community’s Water Department, including operation and maintenance of the dam post-implementation. The individuals in this department are appointed by fellow community members.

Roadmap to Success Optional (1 - 3 minutes to upload)

Roadmap to Success:

roadmap_to_success.pdf

FIVE PROJECT QUESTIONS Required (60 - 90 minutes)

1. What is your innovation?

Although we create a vital water source, the real innovation and impact of our project lies in our emphasis on education rather than financial assistance. Our team is unique because, unlike most organizations working in developing countries, we provide a hands-on approach to community development. We are not just providing a service. We are giving the knowledge and tools to create a healthier and more sustainable way of life.

3. Who pays?

Even though we will provide start-up implementation costs and education materials, the Bondo-Rarieda residents are required to provide the available resources necessary for the completion of the project. This includes a percentage of the costs for implementation, which can be done through labor, gathering materials, and/or fiscal contribution. The design costs $1000 less than currently implemented systems and holds nearly three times as much water. The total project cost is an estimated $10,000.

4. What is your success?

We have several technical and social metrics to evaluate the success of our project. These metrics will include reducing the average distance to clean water by 50%, reducing infant death due to water-borne illness by 5% in 5 years, seeing community members apply the prototype project to at least 5 other dam sites in three years, and asking the community members about their impression of the dam and how they feel it has impacted their lives. Social metrics will be evaluated by an anthropologist.

5. How will you do it?

1) Through contact with key community leaders, we have investigated the problems facing the community. 2) By building a prototype at the teacher's college, the hub of the community, we are allowing the community to accept the technology. 3) We have designed a cost-effective solution; it costs $1000 less than current systems and our prototype can be made exclusively from local materials. 4) Working with the teacher's college, we can develop programs to raise awareness and construction education.