Muruku, Kenya: Hopeless to Hope-filled for Clean Water

For those of you that have been following our work since last year, you probably remember our 100th water project. It was in Muruku, Kenya, and our team live streamed the exciting milestone! It has now been one year since the project was implemented. Our Community Director, Joe, visited the community recently to measure the impact since, and the changes he has seen are incredible. Continue reading to see Muruku’s clean water journey from hopeless to hopeful.

Muruku, Kenya

Walking into Muruku secondary school in early 2022 our team was nervous since the school principal had called us two days earlier and explained the extremity of the water crisis at the institution. According to him, the nearby community well had stopped functioning and the school was no longer getting water. There was friction between the community and the school and nobody was willing to step in to help solve the situation. Upon greeting us, the principal explained how several organizations had walked into the community and made promises to help them gain clean water, but none of the promises amounted to anything. He also spoke about how the community and school had tried to combine forces to fix the old water system, but the financial obligation of this seemed to be far-fetched for them. They had reached a point where they had given up on the entire situation and on clean water.

After the conversation in the office, we took a walk around the school to assess how things were going, and it was way worse than what the school head had explained to us. The school was pumping in water from a contaminated river which was at the edge of the property. This water was being used for all the school’s uses- cooking, cleaning and drinking. It was heartbreaking to see these young kids consume that water.

We left the institution with a hearty promise that they will have clean water – this time for real – and that things will be better. And, without a doubt, things did get better. Within a few weeks time, Well Aware started looking into the most appropriate line of action for the situation. We conducted hydro surveys, held community meetings with all stakeholders, and after all of our research, we were able to design a new water well project for the community. And in March 2022, we broke ground on a new deep borehole for Muruku.

Fast forward a year later, walking into the same institution this time around and our hearts were immediately filled with happiness and excitement. At the edge of the property next to the school gate there’s a functioning water kiosk and community members are enjoying clean drinking water. All school water tanks are fully filled and you can see the kids line up at different points filling up their water bottles. The school principal couldn’t help but reminisce how one year back we had walked into the institution and how this time around, everything is different for the school and the entire community.

Currently, the new system at the secondary school is not only supplying water to the secondary students and teachers, but it’s also supplying the nearby primary school and the community kiosks as well. Peace and stability are found throughout the community and each member of the community is happy with the reliable availability of clean drinking water.