Oxfam's Tom Baldwin accompanies Public Health Engineer Hassannur on one of his regular visits to the displaced persons camp at Makutano in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya.

As violence erupted following the disputed election results, many Kenyans sought protection in police stations and churches. The small Presbyterian church in Makutano, Rift Valley Province, was one such refuge – a safe haven for hundreds of people in the early days of violence. Since those first few days, the sheltering population has largely moved out from the church, setting up camp in neighbouring government-owned land.

Improving sanitation and water provision

I accompanied Oxfam’s Public Health Engineer, Hassannur, on one of his regular visits to the camp. We arrived to find the men of the camp hard at work digging new latrine pits just outside the camp area. Already four or five metres deep, the excavation was still going strong. While one man used a pickaxe, another filled a bucket with the loose earth, and above a third man hauled the full buckets to ground level using a rope tied with knots for extra grip.

“We’re aiming for six metres deep,” says one of the men, “it’s hard work but it gives us something to do.”

Although Hassannur is clearly anxious to get the work finished he seems satisfied with the progress, and we move on. As we walk, he explains the system Oxfam uses in the camp. “We pay each man a small amount for their work. They’re volunteers not employees, the payment is just enough to act as extra incentive.  We also provide all the tools – buckets, shovels, picks – and the building materials. We’ll use a timber frame to support the corrugated iron structure – it has a zinc covering so it won’t rust when the rains come.”

Funded jointly by Oxfam International and UNICEF, this programme aims to bring camp sanitation and water provision up to internationally recognised standards, which have been designed to minimise the risk to displaced people’s health. The race is now on to get the camp up to scratch before work becomes hampered by the impending rainy season.

More latrines are being dug inside the camp, but here several men are shovelling the excavated earth into sacks and wheeling it away in a barrow. We follow one load 50 metres or so and find a large stack of sacks shaped in an oblong. “We’re using the earth to elevate the water tank,” explains Hassannur, “the tank needs to be raised above the height of the taps to create the necessary pressure. Here we’ll use a 10,000 litre bladder tank, enough for about 700 people.” The population of the camp is around 2,000 so I ask what the other 1,300 will do for water. “The church has a water supply but it was sabotaged – the pipe linking it to the water point was cut. We plan to repair the line, only we’ll use galvanised steel instead of rubber so that it’s more difficult for saboteurs in the future.”

Once the water and sanitation infrastructure is in place, Oxfam’s Public Health Promoter, Ester Kabahuma, will work with volunteers to promote basic hygiene and ensure that the facilities are kept clean – a system which has already seen success in other camps. This empowering, integrated approach to public health means the residents of Makutano can have some control over the health of their community, and hopefully remain healthy until they feel able to return home.