June 2014 43

Kenya’s Mwiyenga Village

Residents Pump Fresh Water
for First Time
ICC GMC’s First Humanitarian Project is an Inspiring Success

For years, the people of Mwiyenga Village (0°12’17.0”N, 34°38’14.0”E) in the County of Kakamega outside
Nairobi, Kenya, have gotten their drinking water from the muddy Mwiyenga Stream. Now, for the first time in
the history of the small farming community (pop. ~1,500), the people have a source of clean, potable water.
As part of the Wish-a-Well Kenya project initiated in 2013, volunteers from the ICC Global Membership
Council (GMC) and ICC Pluming Mechanical and Gas (PMG) Membership Council, their friends and family
came together to raise money for the installation of a water well and water tank for the village. Under the
guidance of Michael Otechi, building official in Nairobi, crews drilled the well and assembled the accompany-
ing pump, water storage and related connections.
Lynn Underwood, MCP, 2013 Chairman of ICC’s GMC, current ICC Board Member and building official in
Norfolk, Va., proposed the Wish-a-Well Kenya project.
“This project speaks to who we are as an organization, as building safety professionals and as people,” he
said. “One hundred percent of the money gathered for this project went to the purchase of materials, equip-
ment and labor to complete the project—and the results are precious to the residents of Mwiyenga Village.”

Idea to Implementation A stainless steel submersible pump connects the well to a 5,000
The Wish-a-Well Kenya humanitarian program came about in spring 2013 during a regular conference call liter water storage tank mounted on a 20-ft-high platform. The
well yield is about 2 cubic meters per minute.
among ICC GMC Governing Committee Members. When regular business was complete, Underwood asked

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June 2014 Kenya’s Mwiyenga Village Residents Pump Fresh Water for First Time continued
the group what they thought about taking part in a
humanitarian project.
“My church was involved in a water-related project
in Malawi, Africa,” recalls Underwood. “I thought this is
exactly what we stand for at ICC. As part of the global
building and construction community, one of GMC’s
missions is to advocate for concerns and issues of par-
ticular interest to the global building and construction
community. We are uniquely positioned to identify, pro-
mote and facilitate humanitarian programs.”
Underwood already had talked with Otechi, a mem-
ber of the ICC GMC Governing Committee, to see if he
could help identify a needy Kenyan community. Otechi
worked with ICC to establish an ICC Chapter in Kenya
nearly 10 years ago. He is working diligently to have
Kenya adopt the I-Codes. Otechi wholeheartedly agreed
to spearhead the Wish-a-Well Kenya effort and already
knew a community in desperate need. Otechi estimated
it would require about $7,000 to complete the project.
After Underwood’s short summary of the project
idea, the conference call attendees responded with
overwhelming support, including an immediate pledge
of several thousand dollars from the GMC Governing
Committee members.
With an eye on the fall 2013 ICC Annual Conference
as the prime fund raising venue, the GMC team decided
T-shirt sales
would provide
the perfect fund
raising mecha-
nism. Donny
Phipps, CBO,
CFM, and build-
ing official in
Richland County,
Wish-A-Well T-shirts were sold
S.C., agreed to
during ICC’s Annual Conference in
chair the project. Atlantic City last year and worn by
He designed the several of the volunteers.
logo, and his wife
Judy led project sales for the 600 T-shirts to be sold at
the upcoming conference. ICC Region 7 donated the
use of an iPad with electronic capabilities for collecting
credit card sales and set up a website.
During an ICC Board of Directors meeting, Under-
wood and Phipps reported on GMC and the Wish-a-Well
Kenya project. Once again, the support was so over-
whelmingly positive that the team had gathered nearly
$4,000 without even getting to the T-shirt sales. They
also decided to ask the PMG Official Membership Coun-
cil, which is focused on the well-being of the plumbing,
mechanical, fuel gas, and swimming pool community, if
its members would like to co-sponsor the project. They
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wholeheartedly agreed to join as well.
By October 2013, the concerted fundraising effort
by the ICC PMG and ICC GMC successfully raised about
$6,965. The funds were disbursed to Otechi in Kenya to
enable the procurement of drilling services scheduled
to begin Nov. 25, 2013.
Drilling for Water
In most parts of Kenya, clean potable water in under-
ground aquifers is only obtained from very deep wells
that require costly deep drilling equipment.
For the Mwiyenga Village water well, Otechi used
100 percent of the funds donated to complete the water
well project. He hired a contractor, who used a portable
BoreMaster hydraulic drilling rig made by Hydra-Fab
Manufacturing Inc. of Phenix City, Ala., to drill down to
a depth of about 50 meters. During the process, a drill
bit broke, adding another $700 to the total cost of the
project. Otechi emailed GMC about the problem. The
additional funds were raised within a couple days and
forwarded to Otechi so the contractor could continue
the operation.
A stainless steel submersible pump connects the
well to a 5,000 liter water storage tank mounted on an
18-foot-high platform. The well yield is about 2 cubic
meters per minute.
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June 2014 Kenya’s Mwiyenga Village Residents Pump Fresh Water for First Time continued
“The villagers are overwhelmed with joy about the
well,” Otechi says. “The well is a vital resource to these
people that will significantly improve health and
livelihoods for everyone in the village for many years
to come.”
The drilling of the water well, installation of the
pump and erection of the water tank system was com-
pleted in January 2014.
The village has hired a part-time attendant to main-
tain the pump.
“The villagers are overwhelmed with joy about the
well,” Otechi says. “The well is a vital resource to these
people that will significantly improve health and liveli-
hoods for everyone in the village for many years to
come. For fresh water, they no longer have to hike
to the muddy stream and carry unsanitary water back
to the village. It’s readily available in their backyard.”
Growing Global Advocacy
The success of the Wish-a-Well Kenya project and
support from the GMC membership has sparked con-
siderable interest in sponsoring additional humanitarian
projects.
“As a global organization, we have the ability to do
so much more to improve building and community
safety around the world,” said Michael Maenner, 2014
Chairman of the ICC GMC and building official for Phila-
delphia.
The ICC GMC is considering several potential pro-
grams, from finding a home for surplus firefighting
equipment in developing countries to placing smoke
detectors in strategic places on all seven continents.
“Projects like the one in Kenya unite us in a way that
is both rewarding and responsible,” said Maenner. “Our
motto is, ‘Safe buildings have no borders.’ Together, we
can change the lives of people in powerful and positive
ways.”
The ICC Global Membership Council is a Member forum
established in 2011 to help the global community of build-
ing inspectors become more involved in the global com-
45
munity and influence the direction of ICC. Membership in
the Council is open to any individual who is a Member of
ICC, an ICC Governmental Member Voting Representative,
employed by a jurisdictional or corporate member of ICC, or
a member in good standing of a closely aligned organiza-
tion as determined by ICC.
The Governing Committee of the ICC Global Member-
ship Council includes:
Michael Maenner, Chair, City of Philadelphia, Penn.;
Kevin Skauge, Vice Chair, FirstOnSite Restoration, L.P.,
Saskatoon, Sask., Canada;
Geoff Mitchell, Secretary, GMA Certification Group,
Nerang, Australia;
Lynn Balfour, Member, City of Waterloo, Ont., Canada;
Gregory Beste, Member, Warren Forensics, Hilton Head,
S.C.;
Ali Bukair, P.E., Member, Department of Municipal
Affairs, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates;
Richard Bushey, PhD, Member, Building Officials Associa-
tion of B.C., Richmond, B.C., Canada;
Imad Eldurubi, Member, The World Organization of
Building Officials, Amman, Jordan;
Carlos Gutierrez, Member, EP&D Consultores, Nueva
Anzures, Mexico;
Shuji Mukunoki, Member, Information Center for Build-
ing Administration, Japan;
Michael Otechi, Member, Contract Services Associates,
Ltd, Nairobi, Kenya;
Martin Reiss, Member, Rolf Jensen Associates/Boston,
Framingham, Mass.