Water IS COMING to 6 Ndandini area schools!

We have received word that our requested Rotary Grant has received funding!  That means that we will be able to install a water storage tank at each of the 5 primary schools in the Ndandini / Kyaithani area of eastern Kenya as well as at the Kyaithani Secondary school.

We also will be able to provide a tractor and water wagon (similar to the one pictured below) to deliver the potable water from the Ndandini well to each of these storage tanks.  There will be 3000+ villagers getting access to potable water because of this project.

Thanks to everyone who has helped raise the money for this project and also to those who will be helping with the actual project work over the next 3 or 4 months.

Terry

New VOLUNTEER BUILDING on the Community Garden land

Just wanted to show how the new "VOLUNTEER BUILDING" is coming along.  This is a basic one room building that is being constructed on the land for the community garden.  It will provide a place for volunteers who go to Ndandini to sleep overnight.  It will have a shower and wash basin and a small solar system for charging camera, cellphone and computer batteries and for a light.  There will also be potable water from the Ndandini well.  You will still have to bring your own sleeping bag and food supplies as there is nothing else around.
Terry

Rotary Global Grant update

Today we received notice from TRF (The Rotary Foundation) that our global grant application has passed all the preliminary scrutiny after we answered all their questions.  The application has now been forwarded for a final funding decision.  I am hopeful that we will receive further notice within a week or so.

Terry

ALMOST THERE! Now applying for the final grant for the Water Distribution Project

Thanks to everyone, we have now received commitments from various Rotary Clubs around the world for sufficient funds to allow us to apply for a Global Grant from Rotary International to provide all the funding that we will need for the project to provide water storage tanks at all the schools in the Nandini area of Kenya and to provide a tractor and water wagon to keep those tanks full of potable water.

I hope to hear from Rotary International shortly regarding their review of our grant application.  I will post the information when I get it.

In the meantime, here is the contents of a letter that I just received from one of the Primary Schools which will be getting one of the water tanks:

2011/07/12

From Mary Kilonzo

Assistant Teacher, Ndunguni Primary School

BENEFITS OF DISTRIBUTING THE BOREHOLE WATER AT NDANDINI TO THE SCHOOLS WITHIN THE KYAITHANI CLUSTER

The following are some of the perceived benefits upon distributing the above mentioned water to the schools within the cluster:

A. It will improve the health status of both the teachers and pupils as,

(i) it will provide clean and purified water for drinking and cooking,

(ii) the water drawn from the rivers is mostly contaminated and there are reported cases of infections of waterborne diseases.

B. If the water is supplied to the schools it will support projects in the schools. Such projects include

(i) horticultural farming which in turn will supplement the pupils diet.

(ii) building and construction projects within schools will be easily carried out.

(iii) agro-forestry - it will make it easy to plant trees and forests within the schools compound.

(iv) it will enhance the schools to establish fish ponds which will supply the schools with fish to supplement the pupils diet.

C. At the moment the water used in the schools is carried to the schools by the pupils or alternatively supplied by the parents. On having piped water the schools will therefore offload the pupils and parents from this.

D. When the parents are unable to supply water to the schools, they end up buying water whereby some levies are charged for this and those parents who fail to pay the bill their children are sent away from school affecting their performance. The piped water will relieve the parents the burden of paying such levies and be able to direct the charges to other education related costs.

E. The piped water will be used to clean the compound and make the pupils grow up in a clean environment. This will be achieved through regular washing of the ablutions and classes together with the offices.

F. Water is essentially used in teaching process mostly in science laboratories in high schools and science lessons in primary schools. With the supply of piped water it will therefore serve the purpose and hopefully improve the classroom instruction process by motivating both the teachers and pupils.

G. With the supply of water to the schools, some schools will be possibly promoted to boarding schools where the pupils/students will be confined within the school environ. This will cut the cost of day to day walking to the schools which is a burden to the pupils. The confinement will create more time for the pupils to embark on their academics.

NB. All the above factors will compound to improved socio-economic and academic standards in the schools within the cluster.

(signed) Mrs. Mary Kilonzo