However, we need some immediate financial help to ensure the water is delivered to the schools.
Last year we installed a 10,000 litre water tank at each of the schools and we had secured the commitment from each school headmaster that each school would pay 1500 Kenyan shillings (about $20) per load of water to cover the cost of fuel and tractor driver wages. The headmasters would administer the school's water providing potable water free to the students from the school's revenues and also making water available to the villagers living in proximity to the school (for a fee of about 5 Kenyan shillings per 20 litre jerrycan). The fee charged to the villagers only recovered the cost of the water to the school.
However, reality has proven to be different than the agreed to plan. While the headmasters still are in agreement to buy the water, the schools chronically have no available money. So almost no water deliveries are being made for use by either the 1200+ students or villagers. We cannot stand by and watch as precious potable water fails to reach the target community.
The lack of money at the schools is because of the failure of the government to adequately fund the schools, the delay in receipt of government funding, and the villagers' lack of money to pay for water. The villagers exist in a subsistence-farming economy with drought and famine the regular occurrence. What little money they have is largely spent on school fees and school uniforms.
There are two actions that need to be undertaken to help alleviate this situation:
1. we need to quickly start to raise money to pay for the costs of delivering at least a minimal number of loads of potable water to the schools, and
2. we need to challenge the newly elected Kenyan government to provide these schools with sufficient and regular revenues to both operate the schools and provide the students with potable water.
I am prepared to communicate again with the (newly re-elected) MP for the area in this regard. However, realistically we should not expect a quick resolution of the schools financial shortages from government sources.
In the meantime, and hopefully only for the near-term future, we need to find a way (or ways) to raise some money to pay for water deliveries to the schools.
Last year we installed a 10,000 litre water tank at each of the schools and we had secured the commitment from each school headmaster that each school would pay 1500 Kenyan shillings (about $20) per load of water to cover the cost of fuel and tractor driver wages. The headmasters would administer the school's water providing potable water free to the students from the school's revenues and also making water available to the villagers living in proximity to the school (for a fee of about 5 Kenyan shillings per 20 litre jerrycan). The fee charged to the villagers only recovered the cost of the water to the school.
However, reality has proven to be different than the agreed to plan. While the headmasters still are in agreement to buy the water, the schools chronically have no available money. So almost no water deliveries are being made for use by either the 1200+ students or villagers. We cannot stand by and watch as precious potable water fails to reach the target community.
The lack of money at the schools is because of the failure of the government to adequately fund the schools, the delay in receipt of government funding, and the villagers' lack of money to pay for water. The villagers exist in a subsistence-farming economy with drought and famine the regular occurrence. What little money they have is largely spent on school fees and school uniforms.
There are two actions that need to be undertaken to help alleviate this situation:
1. we need to quickly start to raise money to pay for the costs of delivering at least a minimal number of loads of potable water to the schools, and
2. we need to challenge the newly elected Kenyan government to provide these schools with sufficient and regular revenues to both operate the schools and provide the students with potable water.
I am prepared to communicate again with the (newly re-elected) MP for the area in this regard. However, realistically we should not expect a quick resolution of the schools financial shortages from government sources.
In the meantime, and hopefully only for the near-term future, we need to find a way (or ways) to raise some money to pay for water deliveries to the schools.
The World Health Organization and other learned bodies have concluded that the minimum Adequate Intake (AI) of water per day is about 4 Litres per person. If the schools provided each school child with 4 litres of water a day for consumption (remember that it can be 120 degrees fahrenheit outside), that would require the delivery of three 7500 litre loads of water per month for each of the 6 schools. 18 loads of water each month would meet the minimum level of water provision for the 1200 or so children attending school. If we could provide more it would be great!
It costs about $20 per load of water (for fuel, driver compensation and a bit towards inevitable tractor repairs). So 18 loads of water for the school children would cost about $360 per month.
Can I ask that you consider commiting to provide $20 or $40 per month (for one or two loads of potable water) for the next six months or so as we attempt to get the water flowing again to the six schools in the Ndandini and Kyaithani area of Kenya?
Just click on the "donate here" area near the top/right of this page. Every donation made on this blogspot gets an instant Canadian tax receipt.
Thanks again for your support of our work in Ndandini and Kyaithani.
Terry & Jan
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