What We Do

The Salvation Army International Development UK works alongside communities around the world to defeat poverty and injustice.

Our international work is divided into five themes: Anti-Trafficking, Clean Water, Emergency Response, Food Security, and Women and Girls.

News and Stories

Nduumoni Sand Dam

The Salvation Army in Kenya East is addressing the urgent need for clean and safe water in Nduumoni, a small village located in Kalamba Division of Nzaui Sub-County. 

For many women, the burden of collecting water is an unrelenting task which involves digging into the riverbed to scoop water from underneath the sand. It is a task that takes many hours and the water collected is often unsafe to drink.

In Nduumoni, prolonged droughts are frequent wiping out household’s livelihoods exacerbating poverty due to reliance on rain-fed agriculture. With the changing climate, permanent rivers have become seasonal, and food insecurity has increased.

Nduumoni village is characterised by underdeveloped infrastructure, limited employment opportunities, inaccessibility to credit facilities and continued environmental degradation, which push most of the youth and men to go to urban cities in search of casual jobs.

However, Nduumoni village’s story began to change with the construction of a sand dam. 

What is a Sand Dam?

A sand dam is a concrete structure that is built across a dry riverbed, as rain falls it is captured behind the sand dam wall, where it is naturally filtered and stored by the sand in the riverbed. As the river flows it brings more sand along with it, which collects upstream of the dam, in turn creating more water storage capacity. The water is safely stored in the sand where it is protected from evaporation. 

In Nduumoni village, a shallow well next to the river enables the community to extract the water stored in the sand dam using a hand pump.

One of the benefits of a sand dam is that it raises the water table of the local area, meaning communities can grow crops, establish tree seedlings, and grow fruit trees alongside the riverbanks. Communities are trained in sustainable agricultural practices such as terracing and tree planting; and taught how to grow drought resistant crops which ensure a sustainable, nutritious source of food, improving the health of the whole community. The surplus crop produce can be traded to provide an income, transforming the livelihoods of the communities.

Return to Rural Life

Peter Musyoki, a 54-year-old father of three, is one of the local farmers who has seen the benefit of the sand dam. 

Peter recently returned to Nduumoni having spent 15 years in Nairobi, working as a casual labourer.

He said, ‘We could not grow anything before the sand dam as the land was so dry and could not support any crops. However, since the construction of the sand dam, there has been regeneration of the vegetation along the riverbank, there is now life; birds, trees, and shrubs have started growing’

Musyoki is a model farmer who is currently earning reliable income from the sale of fruit tree seedlings and selling citrus fruits from his orchard. Besides growing varieties of vegetables, he is also growing pigeon peas and cassava which are drought resistant crops. He has established a seed bank which he supplies seeds to the local farmers.

For Musyoki, returning to his village has not only provided him with reliable income but he has been able to share his knowledge with his community. Musyoki has established some good markets for his fruits and vegetables and is excited at the opportunities to make income in his rural village. Musyoki shared how his economic life has improved since returning to the village. He said, ‘I can now comfortably pay school fees, medical fees and provide for the needs of my family. My life has become better in the rural than when I was in the city.’