Background
In October 2010 the East Kanyamamba community, located within the Nyanza Province of Kenya, reached out to the EWB Sacramento Valley Professional Chapter asking for help with improving the well-being of the community. The community is comprised of approximately 1,600 people spread over 10 square miles and has been historically affected by a lack of clean water, decreasing staple crop yields during periodic drought, and very limited healthcare access. Additionally, the community has an unpredictable water supply, with local roads flooding during the rainy season and food crops depending on inconsistent rainy periods for irrigation. Through collaboration with the community members and their leaders, it was decided that developing and protecting access to clean water was a priority. The KEK Project Team worked with a local nonprofit, Grass Roots Organization to Educate and Eradicate Communicable Diseese (GROEECD) in order to best address community needs. An initial assessment trip was made by a dedicated group of KEK Project Team members in late 2010 and a plan was set in motion for improving the community’s access to clean water through the protection of wells and the construction of spring boxes.
Our Ongoing Efforts
The KEK Project Team is currently working on the implementation of several spring boxes that will be located strategically throughout the dispersed community to provide clean water access to the largest amount of people.
The KEK Project Team traveled to East Kanyamamba in September 2015 to build two full water distribution systems consisting of spring boxes, storage tanks, and distribution manifolds. This began the implementation of the first phase of the program designed to strategically disperse access to clean water throughout the community.
The KEK Project Team returned to East Kanyamamba in February of 2019 to monitor the effectiveness of the two water systems established, continue spring box implementation, and to assess future phases of the program. The team was able to implement one additional free standing spring box while making repairs to the established water system from the prior. The team is currently evaluating future phases of the program based on the information gathered for well development from the 2019 trip.
Get Involved by Joining the KEK Project Team
If you are interested in making a positive difference in the East Kanyamamba community please let us know by messaging us through our Contact Page or email us at sacpropresident@gmail.com.
Opportunities exist for anyone who’s interested in EWB Sacramento Valley Professional Chapter to make contributions. To continue our success as an organization, we need a wide range of engineering and non-engineering skill-sets.
