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.
URGENT UPDATE: 30 AUGUST 2026
We urgently need to raise the final £3,000.
We are now extremely close to installing the solar-powered pump that will finally bring water from the borehole to the surface in Ngulu, rural Kenya.
Davis & Shirtliff Ltd has confirmed the following figures:
- Total installation cost: KES 1,745,311
- Kibwezi Fursa contribution required: KES 872,665
- Amount already paid: KES 380,882
- Final outstanding balance: KES 491,783—approximately £2,800
We are therefore urgently appealing for £3,000 to cover the remaining balance, allowing for exchange-rate changes and transfer costs so the solar-powered installation can proceed.
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 the final £3,000 needed to secure the pump installation.
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.
Why the amount needed has changed
When the campaign began, the wider cost of completing the full water system was estimated at approximately £50,000. This reflected the broader long-term ambition, including pumping, filtration, storage, safe drinking-water distribution and protective infrastructure.
We subsequently received a formal quotation from Davis & Shirtliff in Kenya for the immediate solar-powered pump installation. The total quoted installation cost is KES 1,745,311, with Kibwezi Fursa required to contribute KES 872,665.
Of this contribution, KES 380,882 has already been paid. The final outstanding balance is therefore KES 491,783—approximately £2,800.
We are now seeking £3,000 to cover this balance, exchange-rate changes and transfer costs. Filtration, storage, purification and wider drinking-water distribution remain future stages of the project.
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 cover the final outstanding balance for the supply and installation of the 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.
How the project will move forward
The project will continue in practical stages.
Immediate outstanding balance: approximately £2,800. We are urgently seeking £3,000 to cover this balance, exchange-rate changes and transfer costs, enabling the solar-powered pump installation to proceed.
Future stages: further fundraising and income generated through the project can help support filtration, storage and wider drinking-water distribution.
Donations will first support the immediate outstanding balance. If more is raised than the amount required, additional funds will support the borehole's subsequent stages of 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