Clean Drinking Water in Kenya - Update

Clean drinking water is a much sought-after commodity in East Africa. The Outreach Foundation and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) have partnered to bring water to thirsty villages. East Africa Mission Consultant Stu Ross recently sent a report on this life-changing partnership:

Water is life! Over 50% of Kenyans don’t have piped water. It has to be fetched, mainly by women and children, in 20-liter cans. The water may be up to 15 km (10+ miles) away, which makes this an all-day job, two-three times a week. Consequently, mothers are not at home and children miss school. In Maasai land, where water is far away in many villages, children and adults aren’t able to wash regularly and skin disease is common. Diarrhea and dysentery are also widespread diseases where water is either not available or not clean.

I would like to tell you about two water projects we are currently working on in Kenya:

Grace Girls’ Boarding High School                     
Several years ago, we built Grace Girls’ Boarding High School. It now has about 225 boarding girls with no regular water. The school is situated in a remote location, one hour into the Maasai bush from the Kajaido-Namanga paved road. The first time we went there, we had to create the road ourselves. It's a very isolated place where elephants are occasionally spotted. We built this school here because we were given about 40 acres of land by the Maasais who wanted a school for their daughters.

Water is not consistently available because it is piped from the mountains approximately six miles away. This piped water is for all the surrounding villages and their cattle and if there is additional water, it goes to the school. And by the way, the cattle and goats drink first. So the girls are always short of water and as their numbers grow, water becomes more critical. Last year during severe rains, the pipe was destroyed. It took us several months to repair the pipe and the girls suffered. They did manage to collect some rainwater in the plastic tanks (which we bought for that purpose) but it wasn’t enough.

There is a Kenyan family who lost their father last year and set up a Legacy Fund in his memory to help the needy. They heard about the plight of Grace Girls’. We have now met with them three times. Together we are going to try and drill a water borehole. The water is about 300 meters (900 feet) below the surface. The costs will include drilling, placing the submersible pump, tanks and tower, piping, wiring, and solar panels. It's a complicated and technical undertaking but water is life for these girls.

Nandupoi
The next water project is a very unusual one. We tried twice to drill a borehole at a place in Maasai land called Nandupoi. Both times we failed. We have completed twenty-five boreholes without a miss. This one didn’t work. So we are looking for another solution…we don’t give up!

Nandupoi is a group of several villages with no water. Water is fetched by women and donkeys from approximately five miles away. They are desperate for water.

We are working on a solution. We want to construct a large water collection system from corrugated metal and steel feeding ten 1,000 liter plastic tanks, giving us a collection system of 100,000 liters. Even in areas of drought, most places have two rainy seasons. The construction costs of this system will be at least half the price of drilling a borehole and there would be zero maintenance. It might only supply 75% of what they need but if successful, we could enlarge it or build another.

In places where we have helped with water, either a water catchment system or a borehole, the following positive things have happened:

·         improved health, especially with the children

·         children don’t miss school

·         women are able to spend more time with their families

·         women can help their children with homework

·         women may start gardens which supply their families with fresh vegetables

·         women can get jobs and help provide for their families

·         men don’t have to take their animals to distant places looking for water

Grateful for your partnership and prayers!

Blessings,

Stu

Read more about Clean Drinking Water in Kenya HERE.

THE OPPORTUNITY
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts to support the mission and ministry of Clean Drinking Water in Kenya. All gifts of any size are welcomed to help provide gutters and tanks for each site. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.