Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) has launched over 30 water pans in Kisumu County to address flash floods challenges in the county.
The water pans are mainly spread across flood-prone areas in Seme, Nyando, Kisumu East, Muhoroni and Nyakach sub counties.
“Water pans are simple solutions that provide flood control, helping farmers protect their crops, lives and infrastructure from flooding.
“Many people especially in Nyando areas have experienced flash floods for long, and we must come together to find a solution and water pans is one of them,” SHOFCO Founder and CEO Dr. Kennedy Odede said in Awasi, Nyando Sub County.
The SHOFCO Founder said the water pans contribute to local resilience by reducing flood impacts, protecting livelihoods, and ensuring water availability during dry seasons.
“We must develop a culture of harvesting rain water. We cannot be complaining about flash floods and two to three months later, we also complain about lack of water due to dry spell,” he stated.
The water pans occupy about half an acre and able to retain up to over 200,000 cubic metres of water.
Dr. Odede said his organization did public participation to ensure that the pans are built in areas where there is a higher need and consulted engineers for proper earth work.
“Sustainable water pan projects require community involvement, from site selection to maintenance. At SHOFCO, we are champions of community-led solutions and we consult experts to ensure the work is done professionally.
“Climate change can affect rainfall patterns and engineers can suggest designing water pans that can cope with varying water availability,” he added.
On his part, Seme Member of Parliament Dr. James Nyikal thanked Dr. Odede for considering his constituency for development programs.
“Dr. Odede fulfils what he promises every time. You can see his work with your own eyes unlike us politicians who can lie most of the time.
“Thank you for what you’ve done for our people,” Dr. Nyikal said in Seme Teachers Training College.
During his visit to the college, Dr. Odede donated water tank and promised to build Community Resource Centre in the area that can host a library, community hall and entire floor dedicated to women empowerment programs.
Water Engineer Mr. Jared Otieno said he chose sites with good water catchment and a stable foundation to ensure that the structure of the water pan is secure.
“We have ensured that the design of the water pans consider the anticipated water demand, the catchment area, and the volume of rainfall in the area.
“We have also ensured that the pans have the correct dimensions and capacity to meet the intended needs, without over or underestimating the water requirements,” the engineer said.
Jared said he has ensured the pans are durable and able to withstand the local environmental conditions.
Jennifer Atieno, who is one of the water pan beneficiaries in Kabondo Kanyagwal ward, said the pan that was constructed in her area collected all the rain water and it didn’t get full.
“As other places were complaining about floods about three weeks ago, us in this area were okay. In fact, we were praying for more rain so that our pan could be filled to capacity,” Atieno said.
SHOFCO is also involved in several projects in Kisumu County which include youth and women empowerment programs, TVET scholarships, bursaries for school going children and gender programs.
The organization also operates several school libraries across the county.
In the past four years, the organization has been distributing maize seeds to farmers in Nyanza, Western and Rift Valley to address food insecurity.
