The closest water sources are open ponds about .5 to 1 km from the village. These ponds are filled with runoff from the fields around them and are known to be full of the bacteria for Typhoid. Whole families are ill with Typhoid as often as every other month. The mortality rate for children is high in these villages, and there are very few adults in their fifties or older.
The ponds are also breeding grounds for frogs and snakes and draw in wild animals as well, which increases the danger of fetching water. This is particularly true for the children of the two schools. They will drink the water straight from the ponds and will get sick from it.
Financially, the cost of bad water for this village is high. Medicine for Typhoid is very expensive and can cost as much as an average farmer makes a day. And it costs more to hire a bota bota (transport) to get to a doctor. The illnesses keep the poverty cycle going. Money that would go to seed for crops, to food, tuition, or building supplies, will all be used on medicine. And when dry season comes, the ponds dry up, and the villagers must pay drivers to bring them water. Without clean water there is no hope for a better future.
The proposed borehole well and hand pump will be able to serve up to 1,500 people per day, bringing improved health and encouraging village growth.