Water Wells

In a world of six billion people, more than one billion do not have access to safe drinking water.  Each year, 1.5 million children die from contaminated water—typhoid, dysentery, worms, and infections—which is one death every 21 seconds.  Hundreds of millions more suffer from constant sickness as a result of contamination of their drinking water.  The people of Kenya and Tanzania, especially in rural areas, are often unable to obtain clean water, even after walking miles to garner it for their families.

The East Africa Partnership (EAP) has been dedicated to providing clean drinking water in the region for 15 years.  We have drilled 7 wells ourselves and had 20 more drilled at our facilities by outside organizations.  Our programs are diverse—we have founded orphanages, built and staffed 10 medical clinics with 12 more on the way, and are in the process of procuring 100,000-300,000 acres of land from the governments of Kenya and Tanzania for farming. The one thing each project has in common is the need for clean, accessible water.

Self-sustainability is a requirement for every Partnership activity—each program must be self-sustaining within 2 years.  These water wells, in addition to being vital to the success of the programs, will provide additional income and benefit the entire community.  The team responsible for this projec t recognizes the blessing of clean water.  In 2005 the Partnership was responsible for drilling the first water well in Narok, an outlying, semi-arid region.  More than 3,000 people attended the dedication of the water well; many more than were expected.  After observing the work completed for their people, the municipal town council and the county council have joined our partnership and enthusiastically support all of our activities in the area.  The community and local government support has been instrumental in the development of the health care program, founding of orphanages and acquisition of land for farming from the central government.  The water has brought people from different continents and tribes together to collaborate on the common goal of providing clean water with long term benefits for the people of East Africa.   We plan to continue this work with wells at each of our facilities and 5-10 wells for each 20,000 acres of farmland.

The EAP has founded or supports 4 orphanages, housing 300 children with 85 more to be admitted before the end of 2009.  It is vital that these homeless and destitute children have access to life-giving water.  Many of these children were found on the streets and alleys drinking gutter water. The water we provide is used for drinking, cooking, bathing and laundry as well as to irrigate the land that is under cultivation to provide food for the children during the dry season.   The excess water is made available to the local community for drinking and other uses.  Anyone may purchase water for a small fee, eliminating the water-borne diseases and the long treks necessary to procure water for a family.  The proceeds from the sale of the water support the staff and expenses of the orphanage. 

The health clinics also require access to clean water to be safe and effective.  It is used to cleanse laboratory and medical equipment, to compound liquid medicines, to rehydrate patients suffering from severe dehydration (often the result of drinking contaminated water), to wash the hands of medical personnel before patient treatment, and the general use of the staff.  Again the excess water is made available to the community as an additional source of income for the Partnership.

The Kenyan and Tanzanian governments plan to grant the EAP between 100,000 and 300,000 acres of land to cultivate.  This program is designed to produce vital crops to make East Africa agriculturally self-sufficient and reduce the ravages of drought and resulting famine. It will also provide gainful employment to 1.5 million of unemployed youth which is imperative in a country with unemployment approaching 40%.  The nutrition contained in these crops will also serve to prevent many of the dietetic problems among the Masaii people who traditionally eat only the byproducts of their cattle; meat, milk and blood.  The agricultural program will utilize modern farming techniques, including irrigation, which will allow the farms to produce crops year round. Only well water can irrigate this region during the dry season.  Like our other programs, we will provide water to the local community, which often suffers during seasonal drought.

All of the programs of the Partnership are founded on the premise that we can build a stable, better world by working with our brothers and sisters to develop their strengths and give them dignity in a challenging world of change. They demonstrate daily that they are ready and capable of improving their lives and the economy of their countries.

copyright 2010, East Africa Partnership, Inc. All Rights Reserved.