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In southeastern Kenya earlier this year, people from Kasengela village built a special kind of dam.
今年早些時候，肯尼亞東南部卡森蓋拉（Kasengela）村的人們建造了一種特殊的水壩。
The barrier is called a sand dam.
這種水壩被稱為沙壩。
It reduces water flow and increases the amount of wet sand behind it.
它可以減少水流，增加沙壩后面的濕沙。
Sand dams are becoming more common in Kenya and other countries.
沙壩在肯尼亞和其他國家越來越常見。
Local people say the dams save time and labor because they can get water more easily during dry seasons.
當地人說，這些水壩幫助節省了時間和勞動力，因為在旱季他們可以更方便地取水。
Kyalika village in Makueni County is where Rhoda Peter and her group built three sand dams along a nearby river.
在馬庫埃尼郡的卡亞里卡（Kyalika） 村，羅達·彼得（Rhoda Peter）和她的團隊沿著附近的一條河流修建了三座沙壩。
"When I think about sand dams, I feel happy," said Peter, a farmer.
“一想到沙壩，我就高興”，農民彼得說。
"Our shallow well does not dry. It goes all through the dry seasons."
“我們淺井不會干涸。旱季也不會。”
Before they built the dams, she and her children would walk many kilometers to get water.
在修建水壩之前，她和孩子們要步行好幾公里才能取到水。
It took them three hours, and they would hurt their feet on rocks.
他們要花三個小時取水，腳還會被石頭硌傷。
Mwanzia Mutua is the leader of the group who built the Kasengela dam.
姆萬齊亞·穆圖阿（Mwanzia Mutua）是建造卡森蓋拉沙壩小組的組長。
He said that he used to walk seven kilometers from his home to the Athi River to get water.
他說，以前他要從家里步行七公里到阿西河取水。
He spent a whole day on the road.
他在路上要花一整天的時間。
The sand dam will reduce the walk to 10 minutes, he said.
他說，沙壩建成后，取水的步行時間將縮短至 10 分鐘。
"When water is far, you spend all your time looking for it and are unable to do any other work," said the farmer.
這位農民說：“因為取水很遠，你會把所有時間都花在找水上，無法做任何其他的工作。”
"Cattle die because the water is far."
“因為水太遠了，牛死了”
In Kenya, rain falls only part of the year.
在肯尼亞，一年中只有部分時間下雨。
Some rivers become dry soon after the rains stop.
雨停后，一些河流很快就會干涸。
However, these rivers have a sandy bottom, and the sand can hold water.
然而，這些河流的河底都是沙子，而沙子可以蓄水。
The dams are made of concrete and block some of the sand and water.
沙壩由混凝土構成，阻擋了部分沙子和水。
As a result, wet sand builds up behind the dam.
因此，濕沙在水壩后面堆積起來。
This sand can hold enough water for people to use during dry weather.
這些沙子可以儲存足夠的水，供人們在干旱天氣使用。
To get the water, they use a hand pump to pull water from the sand.
為了取水，人們用手泵從濕沙中抽水。
Experts say the dams also help area plants grow and add to groundwater.
專家說，沙壩還有助于當地植物的生長，并增加地下水。
However, sand dams only work in some areas.
然而，沙壩只在某些地區起作用。
A study in Kitui County found that about half of 116 sand dams were not working.
在基圖伊郡的一項研究發現，116 個沙壩中約有一半未發揮作用。
The study said the amount of rainfall, and the amount of clay and rock in the soil are important.
該研究指出，降雨量以及土壤中粘土和石頭的含量非常重要。
"You cannot put a sand dam anywhere," said Keziah Ngugi, a hydrologist and lead writer of the study.
研究報告的主要撰寫人、水文學家凱齊亞·恩古吉（Keziah Ngugi）說：“你不可能把沙壩建在任何地方。”
Makueni County has nearly 245,000 households.
馬庫埃尼郡有近24.5萬戶家庭。
But clean piped water reached only five percent of them in 2022.
但在2022年，只有 5% 的家庭用上了干凈的自來水。
That is one reason the Makueni County government has been building sand dams with partner organizations and local groups.
這也是馬庫埃尼郡政府與合作組織和當地團體一起修建沙壩的原因之一。
By 2022, it had built 71, county government records show.
郡政府的記錄顯示，到 2022 年，該郡已建成 71 座沙壩。
The Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF) helped build the dams in Kyalika and Kasengela.
非洲沙壩基金會（ASDF）幫助卡亞里卡村和卡森蓋拉村修建了沙壩。
The communities provide sand, rocks and other locally available material, and labor.
這些社區提供沙子、石頭和其他當地可用的材料以及勞動力。
The British nonprofit uses partners to provide cement and workers with special skills.
這家英國非營利組織利用合作伙伴提供水泥和具有特殊技能的工人。
After building is complete, the community oversees the sand dam.
建設完成后，社區對沙壩進行監管。
Since it started in 2010, the nonprofit has helped build 680 sand dams in three counties.
自 2010 年成立以來，該非營利組織已在三個郡幫助修建了 680 座沙壩。
"We've used this model for years, and we've seen its success," said Andrew Musila.
安德魯·穆西拉（Andrew Musila）說：“我們使用這種模式已有多年，我們看到了它的成功。”
He is development director at ASDF.
他是非洲沙壩基金會的發展總監。
The organization has also worked with governments and other nonprofits in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia and India.
該組織還與馬拉維、津巴布韋、莫桑比克、馬達加斯加、斯威士蘭、埃塞俄比亞、坦桑尼亞、索馬里和印度的政府和其他非營利組織合作。
The sand dam in Kasengela was completed on March 14, and should be ready to use by December 2025, after it fills with sand.
卡森蓋拉村的沙壩已于 3 月 14 日完工，在填滿沙子后應可于 2025 年 12 月投入使用。
I'm Andrew Smith.
安德魯·史密斯為您播報。
譯文為可可英語翻譯，未經授權請勿轉載！
