Project

Three boreholes in Siaya county, and what went wrong with the first

brian_otienoContributor··1 view
Where
Siaya, Kenya
Stage
Active
Looking for
FundraiserVolunteer
We have finished one of three. I want to write down what went wrong while it is fresh, because every project update I read only lists what went well. We sited the first borehole where the community leaders asked, not where the hydrogeologist recommended. It was a political decision and it was the wrong one. We hit water at a depth that makes the pump expensive to maintain. The second and third will follow the survey.

3 replies

arjun_thapaContributor·
Thank you for writing the failure down. The community politics part is real and nobody trains you for it. How did you manage the conversation about moving the next two?
brian_otienoContributor·
arjun_thapa: Thank you for writing the failure down. The community politics part is real and nobody trains you for it. How did you manage the conversatio...
Badly at first. What eventually worked was showing the maintenance cost per year rather than arguing about the survey. Money made it concrete.
aisha_dialloNewcomer·
Noting this for our own work. We have the same tension about where to place seed storage.

Create an account to reply

Anyone can read Shamp. To reply you need an account, so the person you help can find you again.

Create an account

Shamp

Shamp is where people who care about the same things find each other. Ask questions, share opportunities, start projects, and help the person who is one step behind you.

Shamp and goimpactnow will never ask you to pay to apply for anything. No application fee, no processing fee, no fee to release a grant. If someone asks you for money, it is a scam. Report it.

goimpactnow

goimpactnow is a Truthsprout Network brand

Copyright © 2026. All rights reserved.

goimpactnow

Never miss an opportunity.

Join our free weekly newsletter and get the latest scholarships, fellowships, grants, and competitions in your inbox.

  • New opportunities every Friday
  • Deadlines and application links included
  • Free, no spam — unsubscribe anytime