Always on
This project successfully funded on 25th May 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Water for Disabled People & Local Communities
Kenya
Aim
Help install a solar-powered borehole pump in rural Kenya, bringing water closer to disabled people, their families and the wider community.
Although the Crowdfunder campaign period has ended, donations are still open, and every additional contribution will go directly towards the pump installation and moving the borehole closer to use.
The borehole has already been drilled. Underground water has been found. But without a solar-powered pump, that water cannot yet reach the disabled people, their families and the local community it was drilled to serve.
This campaign is now focused on one urgent, practical step: raising £9,000 to help install the pump system and bring the water to the surface.
I founded ResponsABLE Assistance in 2005, a voluntary not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting disabled people facing difficult circumstances around the world.
Since 2019, we have worked in partnership with disabled community members in Makueni County, Kenya, through our Fursa initiative. "Fursa" means "opportunity" in Swahili. The initiative supports disabled people and their families to build sustainable livelihoods, independence, and dignity within their own communities.
Makueni County is a largely rural region affected by deep poverty, low literacy levels, and limited public welfare. In 2022, the Kenyan government declared the area a disaster zone due to severe and ongoing drought. For disabled people in particular, access to water is often exhausting and unsafe.
In 2024, with initial funding secured, a borehole was successfully drilled in Ngulu on land generously donated by Nzembi Musuvuli, a disabled member of the Fursa community.
Photo by Josemarie Nyagah, Makueni County, 2024
Nzembi and her family have long faced the daily challenge of accessing clean water.
Believing in a better future for her community, Nzembi donated part of her own land so a borehole could be drilled there.
The borehole has now been drilled, confirming the presence of underground water. But without a solar-powered pump system, that water cannot yet be brought to the surface and used by the community.
We are now seeking your support for the immediate next stage: installing the solar-powered borehole pump system so the borehole can begin operating.
This is why our campaign target has changed.
When the campaign began, the wider cost of completing the full water system was estimated at around £50,000. That original figure reflected the broader long-term ambition: pumping, filtration, storage, safe drinking-water distribution and protective infrastructure.
Since then, we have received a formal supplier quotation from Davis & Shirtliff in Kenya for the immediate next phase: the supply, installation, commissioning and testing of a solar-powered borehole pump system.
We have therefore reduced the campaign target to £9,000, so this fundraiser can focus on the immediate, achievable next step: the solar-powered pump installation.
The borehole has already been drilled.
The water is there.
Now we need to bring it to the surface.
Hear directly from Nzembi, who donated her land, and Francis, chairman of the Fursa Disability umbrella organisation:
What your support will fund
Your contribution will help fund the immediate next phase: the supply and installation of a solar-powered borehole pump system.
This includes:
1) Solar-powered pumping. Installation of a solar-powered system and submersible pump, helping bring water from the borehole to the surface without dependence on diesel or unstable electricity.
2) Pump equipment and cabling. The system includes the borehole pump, solar panels, inverter, cabling and associated equipment needed to operate the pump.
3) Installation, commissioning and testing. The supplier quotation includes installation, commissioning and testing, with water delivered to the surface.
4) A practical step towards long-term sustainability. Once the borehole is operational, water for agriculture and local domestic use can help generate income towards future filtration, storage and wider drinking-water distribution.
Why the target is now £9,000
Our original £50,000 target reflected the estimated cost of completing the wider water system.
However, the new supplier quotation means we can now focus on the most urgent and achievable next step: installing the solar-powered pump system.
This does not mean every part of the original vision is complete. Filtration, storage, purification and wider drinking-water distribution will still need further development.
But the solar-powered pump is the crucial next step.
Without the pump, the water remains underground.
With the pump, the borehole can begin serving the community.
How the project will move forward
The project will now move forward in practical stages.
Current campaign target: £9,000. This will help fund the solar-powered pump installation, so water can be brought to the surface and the borehole can begin operating.
Future stages: further fundraising and income from water use can then help support filtration, storage and wider drinking-water distribution.
Because this campaign uses flexible funding, every pound raised will help move the project towards the next achievable stage. Funds raised will be used transparently and directly towards the borehole's development.
The impact
Getting the borehole working will make a practical difference to disabled people, their families and the wider community in Ngulu.
It will help reduce the burden of travelling long distances for water, support small-scale agriculture and enterprise, and strengthen long-term community resilience.
For disabled people and their families, access to water is not only about survival. It's about dignity, health, independence and opportunity.
Every contribution, large or small, helps bring this borehole closer to use.
You can watch a short film about the Fursa project, created from footage filmed in Kenya and the UK in 2024, here:
Thank you for helping turn opportunity into lasting change.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made