Sand Dams Worldwide - Chestertons Foundation

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Sand Dams Worldwide

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In Partnership with Sand Dams Worldwide

At Chestertons International Foundation, we believe access to clean water is a basic human right—not a daily struggle.

That’s why we’ve partnered with Sand Dams Worldwide to deliver a sustainable, proven solution to some of Kenya’s most drought-affected communities. Together, we’re building sand dams: simple, low-cost structures that capture and store rainwater for year-round use.

Why Sand Dams?

In southeast Kenya, families can spend up to 12 hours a day fetching water, often from unsafe sources. This daily burden keeps children out of school, limits farming, and deepens poverty.

A sand dam is a smart, lasting solution:

Captures rainwater underground, preventing evaporation and contamination.
Provides clean water year-round for drinking, farming, and livestock.
Reduces waterborne diseases and improves community health.
Saves time, enabling children to attend school and families to farm.
Boosts food security, income, and resilience against climate change.

Our Impact Goal

Through this project, we aim to:

Construct new sand dams in drought-prone areas.

Provide climate-smart agricultural training to ensure long-term food security.

Support communities in becoming self-reliant and aid-independent.

Every sand dam built can transform the lives of 500+ people for generations.

'After building the sand dam, I hope my life will shift from struggling every day for water to building a future with it — growing food, raising healthy children, and having the time to dream beyond survival.'

Benjamin Mutinda, Utui Mweu Self-Help Group, Africa Sand Dams Foundation

How You Can Help

Whether you’re a Chestertons client, employee, or supporter, you can be part of this life-changing work:

Donate: Every £80 helps a family access a lifetime of clean water.
Fundraise: Walk or run 12 hours over a week in solidarity with Kenyan families.
Give as You Celebrate: Mark a new home sale or rental by making a donation.
Small Daily Swaps: Donate what you’d typically spend on bottled water, coffee, or soft drinks.
Get Creative: Organise your own fundraising initiatives.

Be Part of the Solution

Sand dams don’t just provide water.
They bring health, education, economic growth, and dignity.

Join us in building a future where every community can thrive.

November 2025 Update

Chestertons International Foundation has funded the build of a Sand Dam in Utui Mweu, southeast Kenya.
Work started in October 2025 and is due for completion November/December 2025.
The sand dam build is carried out by the self-help group (SHG)

Key Facts

The Utui Mweu SHG has 40 members.
- Self-help groups are self-formed groups ofrom the community who have joined together for the purposes of their sand dam projects and subsequent community development.
The Utui Mweu SHG will benefit directly from the sand dam, as well as 550 people from the Nthiiani and Kavatini villages in the area near the sand dam.
A further 2,842 people in the Yeekanga sublocation will benefit from living in the same sublocation as the sand dam by:
- being able to access water from the sand dam, or by the new water source reducing pressure on existing water sources.
- the sand dams raising the water table and re-greening the area, providing a healthier and more productive environment for the whole of the local population.

Sand dams provide lifelong access to nearby clean water, and once built, can last upwards of 60 years with little to no maintenance or operational costs

A message of thanks

“Your contribution will help support a rural dryland community in southeast Kenya to build a sand dam, enabling them to become food and water secure and safeguarding their livelihoods for generations to come.

Without the help of donors like The Chestertons Foundation, very little of what we do would be possible. On behalf of all the people who will benefit from your support, we would like to convey our heartfelt appreciation” Judith Eaton – Chief Operating Office- Sand Dams Worldwide

Donating to The Chesterton’s Foundation means directly helping good causes