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Published: June 17th 2008
Hello.
We arrived safe and well in Narok on Wednesday. We have been given a warm welcome by everyone, both here and in Nairobi. We were expecting our plans to have changed slightly but it appears that there are going to be some bigger changes than we could have anticipated, all in a positive way! On Wednesday we heard that the situation in Endonyo Narasha was so severe that since we had to postpone our trip another charity drilled a borehole on Monday. We are in discussions with them on how we can work together in a partnership to bring the best results possible to the community. At present they have considered installing a petrol pump, but we believe that this will only hinder the situation as the community would have to pay the rising prices for petrol and transport it exceptionally long distances. Therefore this would not be a sustainable solution to the water shortage. We suggest a wind pump although this is a higher initial cost it also requires less maintenance and is more reliable. It is also far more environmentally friendly.
We are meeting with the other charity tomorrow to discuss the possibility of a wind pump and how we can work together to ensure the community can access the much needed water.
As a result of these changes we have been introduced to another community desperately in need of clean water. We carried out a hydrological survey on Sunday with the Ministry of water in Narok. We are constantly in touch with the drilling company who are ready to act as soon as the survey results have been processed, which should be tomorrow, so we hope drilling can start early next week. Please see below for information on the second project.
So as we are looking into both these projects we have been kept very busy! Both projects are tackling very different water issues and this provides a really exciting challenge for us.
DIG DEEP - Second Project
Sakuteik community is located between Narok town and Naivasha. It is a Maasai community and home to 8000 people. We traveled to this area on Wednesday to meet with the people who will be coordinating the project with us. We were greeted with a real enthusiasm for the project and they are willing to do anything to ensure its delivery.
Some people can travel up to 8 km to use a small trickle of water from a spring in the hill. This has been running for 40 years and has slowly diminished and fails to provide enough water for the community. In order to attempt to meet demand 6 families have dug small private 10 ft wells on the dried up river bed. These provide seriously contaminated water which is sold on to the community. The families who own the wells use their children to collect and sell the water to households who have no choice but to buy it. The children are often unable to attend school because they are busy selling water for their parents, or queuing to collect water from the small trickle. The use of children is so severe that the regional councilor has helped to build a girls dormitory for the primary school so the girls can live at school during term time so they cannot be pressured to work.
The effects of this water are seen through the high number of cases of typhoid and dysentery in both adults and children.
A deep well (borehole) is needed to help the community. This will provide enough clean water for the whole community that everybody will be entitled to access. The community has tried to deal with the problem themselves by using a variety of rainwater harvesting methods. However the unreliable 2 months of rain fails to meet all of their demands even during the rainy season.
We hope to provide this wind powered borehole on communal land next to the primary school (which has 500 students). There have already been volunteers to ensure the wind pump’s maintenance. These volunteers have come from the schools and the village elders.
The water would be for everybody and money to maintain it would be self funded. The community has already demonstrated an ability to make collective donations as they funded a maternity clinic and a new health clinic that are both running well and open everyday.
The new water source will ensure a healthier community in which everybody has free access to safe water.
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clare Zeevi
non-member comment
keep going!
Dear Jo and Pete iT IS WONDERFUL TO GET THESE UPDATES AND TO LET YOU BOTH KNOW THAT YOU ARE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB, TURNING ON A SIXPENCE TO MEET THE CHANGING NEEDS OF THE SITUATION. iT SOUNDS LIKE YOUR BEST FRIEND IS A SENSE OF HUMOUR AND A NEVER GIVE UP FRAME OF MIND! lOVE TO HAVE SOME PICS IF YOU CAN....