The biggest challenge for many communities out in the Taveta District is access to water. Kasaani is a community of approximately 3000 people who do not have sufficient access to clean water. If your feeling thirsty, need a wash or need to water your garden and livestock you have to walk to the nearest water collection point, 5km away. Even then, there is no guarantee the taps will be working that day, meaning you will have to go another 10km to find water.
About 12 months ago, something amazing happened, a 10,000l water tank appeared in Kasaani out of nowhere. Nobody really knew what to do with it as there was no borehole and no operational pipeline to fill it with water. A truck from the Ministry of Water came to fill it up about 3 times over the 12 months but otherwise it was just sitting around collecting mosquito larvae.
In the mean-time, the Taveta County Council answered another one of Kasaani's prayers by building a nursery school for the village. This modern building is 20x30ft and has a lovely big iron sheet roof! One of our Volunteers, Krist'l Lefevere came out to Kasaani to say hello, saw the empty tank and the big shiny new roof and said "why don't we build a water harvesting system?" Everyone in the village agreed it was a fantastic way to make use of the tank and also improve the school. A few hours later she was on the phone to friends and relatives back home in Belgium and convinced them to send her 300 euro to help us put the system together.
Two days later we were back in Kasaani armed with pipes, gutters, nails, some mesh to keep mosquitoes out and supplies for lunch. The community of Kasaani had supplied a work force plus sand, gravel and blocks to build the stand for the tank. Four hours later the gutters were up and the tank in place.
Just as we finished our lunch the sky opened up and it started to rain, heavily. There was nothing left to do but laugh and enjoy the drenching.
The great news is we still have cash left over from Krist'ls fundraising to build another water harvesting system. We have found another community with a big shiny roof and a big tank but no water in Matakuja B and are planing to put the two together in Feb 2013, before the next rains arrive.
About 12 months ago, something amazing happened, a 10,000l water tank appeared in Kasaani out of nowhere. Nobody really knew what to do with it as there was no borehole and no operational pipeline to fill it with water. A truck from the Ministry of Water came to fill it up about 3 times over the 12 months but otherwise it was just sitting around collecting mosquito larvae.
In the mean-time, the Taveta County Council answered another one of Kasaani's prayers by building a nursery school for the village. This modern building is 20x30ft and has a lovely big iron sheet roof! One of our Volunteers, Krist'l Lefevere came out to Kasaani to say hello, saw the empty tank and the big shiny new roof and said "why don't we build a water harvesting system?" Everyone in the village agreed it was a fantastic way to make use of the tank and also improve the school. A few hours later she was on the phone to friends and relatives back home in Belgium and convinced them to send her 300 euro to help us put the system together.
Two days later we were back in Kasaani armed with pipes, gutters, nails, some mesh to keep mosquitoes out and supplies for lunch. The community of Kasaani had supplied a work force plus sand, gravel and blocks to build the stand for the tank. Four hours later the gutters were up and the tank in place.
Just as we finished our lunch the sky opened up and it started to rain, heavily. There was nothing left to do but laugh and enjoy the drenching.
The great news is we still have cash left over from Krist'ls fundraising to build another water harvesting system. We have found another community with a big shiny roof and a big tank but no water in Matakuja B and are planing to put the two together in Feb 2013, before the next rains arrive.
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