One of the reasons I established the nursery beside our house was that the water supply was good. Well it turned out that it wasn't and it took a long time for me to understand what the problems were and in fact how the scheme worked.
I was told that the water scheme was established by a group of women who had been donated project funds by US Aid. The gossip was that the women had 'eaten' the money [buying Landrovers and the like] and had done a shoddy job on the water scheme. Certainly it wasn't working. The scheme was to bring water from a spring high up the mountain to serve Nkoaranga Hospital, Makumira Secondary School, Makumira Primary School [the end of the line] and the villages between.
There was a very good spring just below our house [it fed an irrigation ditch all the way through rice paddies to Manyata village] but it was polluted a source because village people and secondary school boarder did their washing there and and bathed as well. Who could blame them because there was no other water! I tried to teach that cleaning activities could be done by filling a bucket and doing it away from the creek - but that fell largely on deaf ears.
The growly vol who had lived there previously had used a huge pump powered by electricity - paid for by the secondary school - to try to fill the reservoir beside the primary school teacher accommodation block. He reckoned that the water disappeared! He said he could hear it going in. I think he was wrong - the pump was not operating, just using electricity. The valves in the pump unit were worn out. The water he heard was irregular trickles from the water scheme.
This reservoir, and the large pump, was set up by the Makumira Farm, presumably the manager and the farm had donated water to both school as all these enterprises were DME controlled.
The reservoir was set up to benefit the Manager's house - now our home. The reservoir was six metres in diameter and three metres high which means it could hold 28 cubic metres of water but it was never even half full.
There were two outlets - the school one was 150mm higher than the manager's house outlet meaning that after the schools' line ran out there was still some .4 of a cubic metre of water or 4230 litres. That is a significant amount. With that we could irrigate the nursery once a day and all the household usage as well as allowing Mama Upendo and others to take some.
The secondary school used a fundi - plumber - who lived some distance up the mountain and one day Mbise brought this guy to talk to me. He had been under pressure from the school leadership to do something about the water scheme and he knew that I was likely to assist him. I used this guy a lot over the years - always just calling him 'Fundi' - I liked him and respected his knowledge because I too had experience with water schemes.
The Environmental Teacher from the secondary school was responsible for their water. His name was Nnko and he was a nervy fellow who I guess was laughed at by many and I guess I treated him a bit like that at first, but quickly found him to be an intelligent man and dedicated to his work.
The school had no money at this time (and that was true as times for DME were tough) so the fundi, the teacher and five senior students hopped into my Toyota and we proceeded up the mountain over steep, windy and sometimes tricky tracks to the chanzo - the start of the water scheme.
The tracks were slippery due to the recent rains and we walked the last hundred metres or down a steep hill to the spring. There was a weir there, about two metres high and perhaps three metres wide. So the 'head' of water or catchment was not really very big meaning the storage area for the scheme was very limited.
There were several leaks in the weir but due to the recent rain, water was flowing over it. The outlet was a 150mm steel pipe and just down a bit was a 25mm outlet for local village people to take water. The fundi wanted the weir repaired.
We went back to the Toyota and travelled down a way to again walk to the pipeline. The line was now plastic and 100mm. It stepped down a vertical bank for about three metres, the pipe was exposed and climbed over a small ridge, at the highest point a vertical 50mm pipe shot into the air and I was told it was a breather pipe to allow water into the line - only thing was that water was pouring out of it with some force and causing erosion! The fundi told me it wasn't meant to do that and I concurred - I couldn't understand the reasoning for it. The fundi wanted it fixed.
The rest of the line was in a sorry condition. It was supposed to be galvanized pipe, but plastic was used so the women had more money to spend! The line had not been dug down deep enough so was damaged when people were cultivating their small farms - hitting the pipe with a jembe (hoe). There were a few illegal branch lines taken off and all the taps providing village people with water, and there were many of them, were leaking because the tap was broken. This happened at almost ever water project - water would not come out, so it was hit with a rock by someone thinking the tap was faulty and brass taps can not withstand such treatment!
So the fundi wanted this fixed as well.
The teacher Nnko told me that the school did not have the Tsh5000/- to pay the fundi for the day's work - so I dipped into my pocket and paid him 2000. I asked him to pass by on Monday and I would discuss things and pay him in full.
Sorting the water was urgent but I made up my mind after the Evangelist seminar.
There was a semi-derelict house beside ours which had been the farm manager's servants' quarters. It had no utilities and I had allowed Mbise to set up camp there as he needed somewhere to rest and keep his gear. It was basic but adequate for his purposes.
There was a Evangelist seminar at the secondary school for one weekend and ten of them from far away churches asked if they could stay in Mbise's house. I had no issue and nor did Mbise - all part of the church activities.
There was extra noise and more movement around our house than I liked and they began to use water from the tap outside our bathroom window. It was the only outside tap and I used it for irrigating the nursery. And to supply water to Mama Upendo.
Well these guys soon used up all our household water on both days leaving us with none to irrigate or to bathe. So I had to carry buckets of water up from the creek and on the Monday, the nursery worked carried enough to give the nursery a drink. I have no issue with carrying water but these guys did not do their share.
It took some time for the water level in the reservoir to reach its sustainable level.
I decided to apply for funds to renovate the Makumira water scheme.
I was told that the water scheme was established by a group of women who had been donated project funds by US Aid. The gossip was that the women had 'eaten' the money [buying Landrovers and the like] and had done a shoddy job on the water scheme. Certainly it wasn't working. The scheme was to bring water from a spring high up the mountain to serve Nkoaranga Hospital, Makumira Secondary School, Makumira Primary School [the end of the line] and the villages between.
There was a very good spring just below our house [it fed an irrigation ditch all the way through rice paddies to Manyata village] but it was polluted a source because village people and secondary school boarder did their washing there and and bathed as well. Who could blame them because there was no other water! I tried to teach that cleaning activities could be done by filling a bucket and doing it away from the creek - but that fell largely on deaf ears.
The growly vol who had lived there previously had used a huge pump powered by electricity - paid for by the secondary school - to try to fill the reservoir beside the primary school teacher accommodation block. He reckoned that the water disappeared! He said he could hear it going in. I think he was wrong - the pump was not operating, just using electricity. The valves in the pump unit were worn out. The water he heard was irregular trickles from the water scheme.
This reservoir, and the large pump, was set up by the Makumira Farm, presumably the manager and the farm had donated water to both school as all these enterprises were DME controlled.
The reservoir was set up to benefit the Manager's house - now our home. The reservoir was six metres in diameter and three metres high which means it could hold 28 cubic metres of water but it was never even half full.
There were two outlets - the school one was 150mm higher than the manager's house outlet meaning that after the schools' line ran out there was still some .4 of a cubic metre of water or 4230 litres. That is a significant amount. With that we could irrigate the nursery once a day and all the household usage as well as allowing Mama Upendo and others to take some.
The secondary school used a fundi - plumber - who lived some distance up the mountain and one day Mbise brought this guy to talk to me. He had been under pressure from the school leadership to do something about the water scheme and he knew that I was likely to assist him. I used this guy a lot over the years - always just calling him 'Fundi' - I liked him and respected his knowledge because I too had experience with water schemes.
The Environmental Teacher from the secondary school was responsible for their water. His name was Nnko and he was a nervy fellow who I guess was laughed at by many and I guess I treated him a bit like that at first, but quickly found him to be an intelligent man and dedicated to his work.
The school had no money at this time (and that was true as times for DME were tough) so the fundi, the teacher and five senior students hopped into my Toyota and we proceeded up the mountain over steep, windy and sometimes tricky tracks to the chanzo - the start of the water scheme.
The tracks were slippery due to the recent rains and we walked the last hundred metres or down a steep hill to the spring. There was a weir there, about two metres high and perhaps three metres wide. So the 'head' of water or catchment was not really very big meaning the storage area for the scheme was very limited.
There were several leaks in the weir but due to the recent rain, water was flowing over it. The outlet was a 150mm steel pipe and just down a bit was a 25mm outlet for local village people to take water. The fundi wanted the weir repaired.
We went back to the Toyota and travelled down a way to again walk to the pipeline. The line was now plastic and 100mm. It stepped down a vertical bank for about three metres, the pipe was exposed and climbed over a small ridge, at the highest point a vertical 50mm pipe shot into the air and I was told it was a breather pipe to allow water into the line - only thing was that water was pouring out of it with some force and causing erosion! The fundi told me it wasn't meant to do that and I concurred - I couldn't understand the reasoning for it. The fundi wanted it fixed.
The rest of the line was in a sorry condition. It was supposed to be galvanized pipe, but plastic was used so the women had more money to spend! The line had not been dug down deep enough so was damaged when people were cultivating their small farms - hitting the pipe with a jembe (hoe). There were a few illegal branch lines taken off and all the taps providing village people with water, and there were many of them, were leaking because the tap was broken. This happened at almost ever water project - water would not come out, so it was hit with a rock by someone thinking the tap was faulty and brass taps can not withstand such treatment!
So the fundi wanted this fixed as well.
The teacher Nnko told me that the school did not have the Tsh5000/- to pay the fundi for the day's work - so I dipped into my pocket and paid him 2000. I asked him to pass by on Monday and I would discuss things and pay him in full.
Sorting the water was urgent but I made up my mind after the Evangelist seminar.
There was a semi-derelict house beside ours which had been the farm manager's servants' quarters. It had no utilities and I had allowed Mbise to set up camp there as he needed somewhere to rest and keep his gear. It was basic but adequate for his purposes.
There was a Evangelist seminar at the secondary school for one weekend and ten of them from far away churches asked if they could stay in Mbise's house. I had no issue and nor did Mbise - all part of the church activities.
There was extra noise and more movement around our house than I liked and they began to use water from the tap outside our bathroom window. It was the only outside tap and I used it for irrigating the nursery. And to supply water to Mama Upendo.
Well these guys soon used up all our household water on both days leaving us with none to irrigate or to bathe. So I had to carry buckets of water up from the creek and on the Monday, the nursery worked carried enough to give the nursery a drink. I have no issue with carrying water but these guys did not do their share.
It took some time for the water level in the reservoir to reach its sustainable level.
I decided to apply for funds to renovate the Makumira water scheme.
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