Published in June 2025

We spoke with Stellamaris Mwongela, who kindly gave us insight into a sand dam project in her community in southeast Kenya, sharing how she has seen changes which span across her personal and working life. Her story demonstrates the potential sand dams have to help communities overcome numerous challenges.

Stellamaris Mwongela is a farmer, a mother of three, and a widower who is not only a member of the Kyanzonzo Unit self-help group (SHG) but is also the group secretary. She kindly spoke with us about the empowering changes she has seen in her life, her livelihood, and in the lives of her children since being a part of the Kyanzonzo Unit SHG’s efforts to increase access to water in their community.

As a farmer who relies on rain-fed agriculture, Stellamaris faced difficulties with water access and was seeking a solution. This is when she decided to become a member of her local SHG:

“When I heard there was an organisation supporting communities with access to water, I thought I would join and pull our efforts together. I am proud of being a member of the Kyanzonzo Unit SHG.”

In the past, due to the lack of available water nearby, she struggled to make her farming productive. The journey to collect water was gruelling and left her lacking enough time to work on her farm. Furthermore, her livestock would also feel the effects of having to travel to such a distant water source. As Stellamaris says:

“We used to wake up at 4am and walk with our donkey and jerry cans to the River Athi. If you had a baby, you would have to carry the baby with you. If the baby starts crying on the trip you would have to stop and breast feed on the way, whilst you yourself have not had anything to eat that day. You might get home at 2pm with the water you had collected, which you would have to use for everything you need that day and the next.”

However, following her community’s years of work on sand dam projects in the area, things are now changing for the better, as Stellamaris describes:

“Now thanks to the availability of water I can grow vegetables and my livestock get enough water to drink from the sand dam. I have enough time to do terracing and work on my farm, so I am seeing improvements. I can now grow sorghum and cow peas, as well as grow fruit trees, mainly mangoes. Last year, I also planted spinach, onions and peppers.”

Stellamaris Mwongela, secretary of the Kyanzonzo Unit self-help group, southeast Kenya.

Importantly, Stellamaris explains that with the support of the Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF), our partner in southeast Kenya, she has received trainings in subjects like livestock production and tree nursery management. This training has empowered her to learn more about how she can nurture her environment and implement more sustainable habits that have a positive effect on generations to come. She describes the impacts:

“We received training in livestock production and I have been able to increase my numbers of livestock as a result. I also learned about tree nurseries and managing trees, so I have used those skills to start a tree nursery and I am already seeing the benefits to our areas. The environment is becoming greener and I think we can say that is because of the sand dam.”

In addition to the impacts on her farming livelihood, the greener environment, and the empowerment that has come from learning new skills, Stellamaris also notes the positive impact that increased access to water has had on her children’s education and their future:

“Once we started to build sand dams, the children did not have to go and fetch water as they had enough already. They also had enough time to study properly, so they are doing well and some of them will go far in education. Before the sand dams, it was not like that.”

Reflecting on the sand dam projects, Stellamaris leaves us with a final word about how the increased access to water from her community’s sand dams has strongly impacted so many facets of her life:

“My greatest achievement is water. I see the trees, the crops, the education of my children, everything is because of water. We have come very far and we think we will go even further.”

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Our current appeal: please donate what you can to help communities in Zimbabwe to restore degraded land with sand dams

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£20 could contribute towards all the cup seals, a crucial water point component, needed to construct water points for three communities

£50 could contribute towards PVC pipes for three communities’ water points, through which water can flow from their sand dams to their water pump taps

£100 could contribute towards non-return valves for three communities’ water points, helping to control the flow of water from their sand dams

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