Project poster (PDF)

Water

Kenya

Sand dams

Water scarcity is a crushing problem in rural Kenya, forcing households to send someone, usually a woman or girl, to fetch water a chore that could take four hours or more a day. And much of the water is not pure and may cause deadly diseases, especially among children. Irrigation for crops is out of the question in many locations, keeping yields small and farming communities mired in poverty.

However, with the support of MCC, families are working together to build a series of concrete barriers across streams that fill with water during part of the year. These simple structures, called "sand dams," trap water in underground channels and have the potential to improve life in many rural communities in Kenya.

Samuel and Margaret Kiola, a middle-aged farming couple in the village of Mathunzuni, witnessed this transformation. The Kiolas used to walk 5 kilometers, about 3 miles, to fetch water. Then villagers built a sand dam not far from their house, raising the water table. Soon water became available year-round in their shallow well. The water is not only closer it is cleaner than water from holes shared by animals.