Physical Health Kenya Project #12090

Help Fund a School to Access Clean Water in Kenya

by Action Change (Formerly GVI Trust)

Project Report | May 8, 2017
Quarterly Progress: 100 000L Capacity Repaired!

By Dane Marx | GVI Fiji, Country Director

Some of the hard-working team!

Dear Supporters,

Another 3 months have passed here in Fiji and although the Community Project volunteer team has been hard at work on several new projects and initiatives, water security remains a vital component of our work over on the neighbouring villages of Moturiki island.

Since our previous report, we have completed additional rainwater harvesting repairs at three villages- Nasesara, Uluibau and Nasavuki. This has included repairing defunct 30,000-litre concrete tanks in each village, as well as connecting guttering and rainwater harvesting infrastructure, ensuring that the newly repaired tanks are filled with clean fresh rainwater for the local communities.

That means in just 3 months we have restored nearly 100,000 litres of rainwater storage! This is a fantastic achievement and again highlights the importance of incorporating local knowledge and information into needs and capacity assessments in the early stages of any projects.

Looking ahead for the water security project over the coming months - many of the plastic tanks sit directly on the ground, which often leads to damage of the tanks and shortening of their life span. The team have begun reassessing RWH systems in all 10 villages to ascertain if repairs are required and if concrete bases are needed. So far assessments have been completed in three villages; Wawa, Nasesara and Navuti.

Since our initial needs assessment in 2016, shortly after Tropical Cyclone Winston hit Fiji, many of the houses which were destroyed or damaged have been rebuilt and repaired. As a result, we now need to reassess and remap each of the villages to include the additional households, in order to ensure there is sufficient supply for all villagers. This process has already begun and will help to identify any additional capacity which may be needed.

Once again, we’d like to say a massive heartfelt thank you to all of our donors, volunteers, staff and community partners for the incredible and generous hard work, input, contributions and efforts that go into making sure these projects are such a resounding success for the communities we work for, and alongside.

Vinaka vakalevu from the team!

With Gratitude,
GVI Fiji

Repairing the guttering

Connecting everything!

Checking the inside of the tanks

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Feb 14, 2017
Rainwater Harvesting Improvements on Moturiki

By Jax Keenan | GVI Caqalai, Base Manager

Hard at work repairing the rainwater tanks

Dear Supporters,

We are pleased to report that various supplies have been purchased for continued repairs to the Rain Water Harvesting infrastructure on Moturiki island. This included 5 bags of cement for repairing the concrete rainwater harvesting tanks in each village. Identified during repairs on the plastic tank infrastructure, the concrete tanks are currently unused due to their deteriorated condition.

The communities of Moturiki have been favouring the use of the plastic rainwater harvesting tanks- they are seen as more modern and clean than the concrete systems, which have been neglected and fallen into a state of disrepair. However, as each of the concrete tanks can collect up to 30,000 litres of rain water, these are an extremely valuable resource to the communities that cannot be ignored.

During January 2017, the volunteers and staff on the GVI Caqalai Community Expedition have repaired cracks in the floor and walls of the concrete tank in Uluibau village, which has a population of 180 people. In nearby Niubasaga village, with 38 inhabitants, they repaired and reinstalled the guttering on the concrete tank there.

With daytime temperatures around 30°C and humidity at 80%, January is not a kind month in Fiji, certainly not ideal for moving barrows of sand and cementing inside a concrete tank. However, as a direct result of the hard-work and sweat of the Community Expedition members, there is now an additional 60,000litres of rainwater harvesting capacity for the 218 people in these villages.

There are a further 9 concrete tanks around Moturiki which are still awaiting repair; we aim to complete these during the first half of 2017.

Thank you for your continued support!

With Gratitude,
GVI Fiji

It is not an easy task :)

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Nov 17, 2016
Recovering Lost Water Storage Capacity in Moturiki

By Dane Marx | GVI Fiji, Country Director

Dear Supporters,

GVI Fiji has been extremely busy over the past few months, helping to repair and restore damaged rainwater harvesting infrastructure in the villages of Moturiki Island. Following on with this work, we are excited to announce the next phase in provision of better access to clean water in rural communities. During our extensive time in the various rural villages on Moturiki Island, our team discovered that there was a large amount of water storage capacity that had fallen into disrepair and was no longer being used. Large concrete water tanks were in place in several villages and were not being used simply due to minor damage such as cracks and leaks.

Concrete tanks are particularly well suited for water storage in these communities because they are strong, sturdy, and typically have much larger capacities than newer plastic tanks. Unlike the more modern plastic rainwater harvesting tanks, they are also far more likely to survive cyclone conditions. Each of the concrete tanks were built in the past through village youth projects, and have a capacity of around 30 000L.

Over the next few months we are visiting, five of the villages on the island of Moturiki and assisting by carrying out repairs to eight of these damaged concrete water reservoirs, aiming to restore about 240 000L of rainwater storage capacity simply through repairs. This project also highlights the value in carrying out pre-emptive needs assessments in the communities prior to investing in new infrastructure, and ensuring that donor funds are used as judiciously as possible.

To ensure that the assistance and interventions provided have a sustainable, long-lasting impact on the communities we work with – GVI Fiji also carries out workshops in the villages where rainwater harvesting repairs or investment is conducted. These workshops cover topics like tank cleaning and maintenance, and ensure that local communities are equipped with the skills and knowledge to ensure that they protect and maintain their water sources in the village.

The continued efforts to restore and improve access to clean water through rainwater harvesting repairs and other interventions on the island of Moturiki ties in very closely with our ongoing WaSH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) program. In order to effectively implement basic WaSH protocols, the starting point is a clean water source. By ensuring that we tackle these issues holistically, GVI Fiji can ensure that the work that we carry out is long lasting and sustainable, a critical component of our conceptual framework on all our projects.

Kind Regards,

The GVI Community Development Team

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