Over 9,500 people will benefit from a grant of sh 172 million from Charity Water to be used to sink 3 bore holes in 3 sub counties in Makueni County between August 2024 and July 2025 period.
The bore holes will be sunk at Lumu in Kasikeu Ward, Kwa Makau, Mavindini Ward and Yumbuni in Nguu/Masumba ward in Kilome, Makueni and Kibwezi West Subcounties respective.
The revelation was made by the Welth Hunger Helfe (WHH) Field Officer (FO) James Wambua during the County Steering Group (CSG) meeting chaired by Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr in his boardroom in Wote town on Wednesday.
Wambua further disclosed that in Kwa Makau 765, Lumu 1,194 and Yumbuni 135 pupils will also benefit from the program since schools in the surrounding are going to be supplied with water.
While saying WHH will implement the projects, he said that three masonry tanks of 75,000 litres will be constructed at Yumbuni and 2 others of 50,000 litres each at Lumu and Kwa Makau where the water will be stored.
Consequently, Wambua told members that a 36 kilometers pipeline will be done in to supply water to the 19 kiosks that will also have a storage tank of 1o cubic meters at the communal water points.
“There will be upgrading and solarization of pumping system and also install water points with ATMs. Installation of 15 PVC tanks at the communal water points. 9 T connections will be constructed.” said Wambua.
On hygiene, the FO said that they will also use the monies to train Community Health Promoters (CHP) who will later go to the community in the area of jurisdiction to ensure every household has pit latrines, a line to hang clothes and pit to throw rubbish.
He said that this process will run for six months in collaboration with Public Health Officers who will also establish each household has got the thresh hold of cleanness.
“The CHPs will go to every household in the villages of the three areas of scope of work and ensure they have a pit latrine, no overgrown grass, have a line to hang clothes. This will have to meet the standards set by the public health officers. Then later we shall have a celebration and declare the villages free from open defecation,” he added.
Under the grant other activities like installation of ATMs in 15 water points constructed previously and also do pilot of inline chlorination on 2 bore holes.
They will also carry out Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) on previous projects to get a feedback shared by stakeholders and groups that is aimed at guiding the groups on savings to meet recurrent costs and capital investment costs hence ensure sustainability of projects.
On his part, Governor Mutula lauded the work of WHH for the good work they had done in constructing classrooms, masonry tanks and pit latrines previously in some schools in the county.
In this regard, he embraced upon other development partners to follow the good work by the WHH that has impacted positively on the lives of students in the county.
By Patrick Nyakundi
