The hand pump is mounted on a spring box, or a container which sits on top of a natural spring which provided a source of water for over 600 families.   Once the elephant damaged the pump the lid to the box was opened up and left open so that people could dip water out of the box. This led to the water being contaminated and unsafe to drink. The villagers continued using it as it was the only source for over four miles. (An interesting note:  when we arrived to assess the damage done by the elephants the first time, we were informed that a hyena had gotten in the spring box, gotten stuck and died.  You simply cannot imagine some of the situations locals face in trying to find clean water…even when the clean water source is nearby.)

Our plans had been to rebuild the broken hand pump with one our ministry partners, and one of their visiting teams, within two weeks’ time. The pump top, handle, and inner components have been sitting in the garage of our partners, repaired and ready to reinstall.

Before that repair could be done, we received a call that the elephants had returned to the scene of the crime.  Now the repair is much more extensive. You can see the pedestal where we removed the damaged parts is now the only thing holding the entire top of the spring box from falling the ten feet into the box!  We will work with our ministry partners, and their team, and attempt to drill a new bore hole near this spring box and put in an elephant-proof pump to provide a safe water source.

We wanted to share this with you just to give you an idea of some of the challenges villagers face in getting water each day.  It also helps give you a glimpse into the issues we deal with in finding solutions to clean water problems – no two are ever alike.

Join us in praying that the elephant does not decide to come back while we are working on the new borehole pump!

[The pictures below show “after” and “before”…the first one shows the situation with which we are currently dealing.  We will actually be working on this project this week – 27 January 2011.]

In November I was asked by one of our ministry partners to look at a hand pump at the Gathiga Hope Children’s Home near Gathiga town. The Afri-Dev hand pump that had been installed on one of their two 100-foot, hand-dug boreholes had stopped working and needed repair.  When we arrived at the home I was quite shocked at the condition of the home. It was obvious that the home did not have a large donor base and was desperately in need of funds. As we stepped out of the vehicle we were greeted by 100 happy children who call this place home. Even though the condition of the home was not the best, it was clear these children were happy and well cared for.

Walking over to the borehole that had the hand pump, we found it had been removed and replaced by an electric submersible pump.  Apparently a donor had come forward and helped pay for the installation and two submersible pumps so the home would have water again.  100 children need a lot of water every day and not having water creates a huge burden at the school.

As a submersible pump had already been installed, it looked as if my services would not be needed after all.  Little did I know how wrong I was. After asking some questions about the construction of the boreholes, I knew we still had our work cut out for us. It turned out that the water had tested positive for contamination, so it was not safe for the children to drink. If you were to look at this water in a glass, it appeared clear and clean to drink. Looks can be deceiving.

A doctor from another organization was also at the home the same day we were there doing medical checks on all the children. She told us many of the children had stomach problems. We determined the water at the home might be the reason for this.  A quick survey showed the school is on a small plot of land and the two boreholes are near the latrines without the standard 50-meter distance between borehole and latrine.  These latrines are also about the same depth as the boreholes and were not lined to prevent leaching into the aquifer. The children were probably getting sick because fecal coliform bacteria was leaking from the latrines into their drinking water.

Somehow we needed to come up with a strategy to treat the water the children were drinking to improve the health at the home.  We decided it would be best to treat about 200 liters of water a day. This would give each child two liters of clean, safe drinking water per day.  We also decided the home was a good candidate for a device called a “chlorinator” to meet the clean water needs of the home. This 12-volt device will make chlorine for treating water from inexpensive cooking salt and water.

In late December we returned to the home with a chlorinator kit, 12-volt battery, solar panel to recharge the battery and some cooking salt. Two older boys and one of the teachers at the home volunteered to learn this process and to perform the treatment of borehole water at the home. Within a few hours after the treatment process the water was ready for the children to drink. The children enjoyed their new water and seemed to have no problems drinking the treated water. We also ran a specific coliform bacteria test to confirm our suspicion about the latrines and within twelve hours the test came back positive for this bacteria. Coliform bacteria should never be found in well water or other sources of drinking water.

Before we left the home we presented our three trainees, Calvinge, Kamau and teacher Lucy with the Living Water Book (The Gospel of John) to quench their spiritual thirst.

In the next few months we will be monitoring the treatment process at the home and will be available to provide technical assistance and encouragement for the trainees. We will also be monitoring the health of the children at the home.

Monday morning we left Ngatataik in Kajiado District for Nairobi to pick up Camille and then drive to the Masai Mara area of Kenya.

On the way to Nairobi we made brief stops in Bissel and Kajiado town. By mid-morning we were back in Nairobi and had somehow avoided the horrendous traffic jams for which Nairobi is known.  A quick stop at our compound to pick up Camille and some clean clothes for the rest of the journey and we were on our way again.  Our travels today would take us northwest of Nairobi towards Limuru town, down the escarpment into the Great Rift Valley then to Narok and the town of Talek in the Mara.

Kenya has some terrible roads by any standards, but over the past couple of years we are starting to see some improvements.  Today we traveled on a new section of road that has been very improved.  We did notice that the rains had started and the landscape was much greener than Kajiado District.  When we arrived in Narok town the first thing we noticed was that the main street is now paved.  In the past, the town had pot holes that could easily swallow a small car.  After a quick Kenyan lunch we headed to Talek on good roads that would only last for a few kilometers.  Once we turned off the main road onto dirt roads the ride became bone jarring and rough due to the poor condition of the road.  This part of the trip would take us two hours and right through the Mara area.  Even though we were not actually in any game park we could see many wildebeest, zebra, Thompson gazelle and giraffe.  Our destination where we would be staying for the next six days was a tented camp just outside the town of Talek.  We would also be joining part of the CPCC medical team and clean water team that arrived on Saturday while we were in Kajiado.

In Kenya when someone says they are going on safari it doesn’t always mean they are going to a game park to see animals.  Sometimes it means they are taking a trip up country (outside of the city) to one of Kenya’s many rural towns.

Tuesday morning after a hearty breakfast and a night of monkeys jumping on our tent we headed off to a CMF clinic in Talek, and a primary school and another CMF clinic in Endoinyo Erinka.  The CMF clinics were in the process of getting started with the Pure Water for Maasai program.  This program uses rain water that is collected or harvested during the rainy season.  Water is collected from the corrugated metal roofs so widely used here in Kenya.  Rain gutters divert the rain water into large concrete or poly tanks for storage.  This rain water is great for bathing, laundry and general washing but is often not safe for human consumption.  Using a simple device called a chlorinator to produce chlorine this rain water can be treated for drinking.  Clinics can now offer clean drinking water for patients who need to take medications with water that will not make them sicker than they already are.

The process is the same at schools where students and school staff need clean drinking water.  By providing this clean water at schools, students can stay healthy and avoid missing so many school days due to water-related illnesses.  This program also encourages students to take this education and knowledge on clean water home to share with their families.

During the rest of the week we visited several clinics, schools and communities in the Mara area that had clean water solutions in place or were in need of implementing a solution that would provide a source of clean drinking water.  Several of the locations we visited had some kind of water infrastructure in place that had become non-operational.  It was disappointing to see this and learn why things were no longer working.  We learned that sustainability at the local level is key for implementing long-term impact in the water sector.

It was a good week and by Saturday we were able to view some of the wildlife for which Kenya’s Masa Mara is so well known.

After a short flight back to Nairobi we returned with lots of new friendships, memories and stories to share next time we see you!  We praise God for the wonderful partnership we have with CMF and look forward to working together to bring both physical water and the Living Water to people here in Kenya.

Olesere

(Goodbye in Maasai)

Update from our recent trip to Kajiado District and the Masai Mara area of Kenya Part 1

First, we love being back home in Kenya and have had the opportunity to connect with many friends and clean water ministry partners since our return.  Our transition has taken longer than we thought it would but we are finally catching up.

When we arrived things were very dry with drought conditions continuing in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya.  The short rains have come during the month of November and things are improving and looking greener.  It is unbelievable how drought conditions affect everyday life in so many ways.

Only a few short weeks after we arrived in Kenya, we had the unexpected opportunity to join a 16-member team from Connection Pointe Christian Church (CPCC) in Brownsburg, Indiana, a ministry partner of Christian Missionary Fellowship (CMF), one of our clean water partners here in Kenya.  The team consisted of a medical team, a videographer, plus some folks who came to help with clean water projects.

Some of the medical team stayed in Nairobi and worked in the Mathare slums, and some of the medical team worked at CMF clinics in the Mara area.  The medical team working in the Mara even delivered a baby one day.  At the end of the week all the teams reconnected in the Mara area.  We stayed in a remote tented camp – monkeys bounced off the tents day and night.

I had the opportunity to travel to a very dry and drought-prone area in Kenya called Kajiado District before traveling to the Mara with our good friend Dan Crum, a CMF missionary who oversees clean water projects here in Kenya.  We were joined by a young videographer from CPCC.  Next year CPCC’s lead pastor is going to do a sermon series about clean water in Kenya. The videographer’s job was to shoot video and pictures about the drought conditions and the need for clean water in Kenya for that sermon series.

The Kajiado District covers a vast area southwest of Nairobi and is part of what is known as Massailand.  The first part of our trip to Kajiado District would take us approximately three hours south of Nairobi and brought us to a town called Ngatataik, deep in Kajiado District just off the road that will eventually take you to the Kenya/Tanzania border.  The first thing we all noticed while driving and when we arrived in Ngatataik was how dry it was.  This area truly looked like it had not received any rains in many, many months.  When I inquired through our host, Pastor Paul, about how long it had been since they received any measurable rain in the area he told us it had not rained since April (six months ago).

After a brief break from the road travel and a tasty lunch of goat stew, we climbed into the van again and headed off to the village of Miton, even deeper in Kajiado District.  This leg of the trip took two hours and was on all dirt roads, or I should I say dust roads.  Dust was everywhere and accumulated in every part of my body.  It took days to get all the red dust out of my clothes and shoes and backpack.

When we arrived in the village of Miton we were greeted by the community and treated to a cup of hot tea or chai, as it is called here in Kenya. Even though it was a very warm day and the middle of the afternoon, chai is always served to visitors in Kenya.  Kenyan chai has lots of milk and some spices to give it a unique flavor.  I would have done anything for a cold Coke, but did not see any power lines for refrigeration since we left the main road two hours ago.  So much for a cold Coke!

As we were drinking chai with our hosts we were told that not many visitors come to Miton.  Not even the government comes to visit them, we were told – that’s how far out in the bush we were.  Our hosts were honored that we would come all this way to visit them and to listen to their daily challenges.

After introductions and helping Jason, the videographer, set up the video equipment, filming was ready to begin.  Several people in the community had volunteered to share their story about how the drought has affected their lives. The Maasai are the main people group living in Kajiado District.  The Massai have a very distinct culture and are traditionally pastoralists.  Cows, goats and sheep have been a key part of Massai culture for centuries.

Several of the men who were interviewed shared how they had lost many head of cattle due to the recent drought.  Numbers of 200, 400 and even 800 cows had been lost due to the drought.  Some men had abandoned their families when this happened because they could no longer support them.  When I say families, plural, I mean this literally as some of the Massai men have more than one wife.  It is not uncommon for a Massai to have four or more wives.  Most of the men who had several wives were my age.  We were told that polygamy is no longer practiced and the younger men are not taking more than one wife.  Pastor Paul, who is in his thirties, introduces himself and will proudly state he only has one wife.  Most of the older men we talked to had many wives before they became followers of Christ.

We also learned that some of the men in the area had hung themselves due to the devastating loss of all their cattle.  The value of one cow in Kenya is anywhere from $100 to $300.  You can see, losing 800 head of cattle at a value of $80,000-$240,000 could wipe out your life’s work and any hope for a future.

As I listened to the stories of the people affected by the drought the one thing that kept ringing out was their continued Christian faith.  This was very evident in the thriving Community Christian Church (CCC) in Miton.  This drought, they told us, has brought people together again in fellowship as a community.  Before the drought, when everyone had lots of cows, people went their own way and paid very little attention to their neighbors.  Now they have to rely on God and each other just to survive.

We also learned that the Massai have learned a lot from the droughts and are already shifting from being pastoralists to being farmers.  They have come to realize they cannot continue raising only cows and need to find other ways to sustain them.  As we were driving into Miton we noticed most of the farms had failed for some reason.  We were told that they had used bad seeds that did not do well and this was the reason for the crops failing.

One farm was doing very well and the reason for this was that they had a private well for irrigation.  This well is also the only source of water for the area and everyone has to pay to use this water.  This water is also all that is available for watering the livestock as all the surface water has completely dried up.

We were invited to stay the night with Pastor Paul’s family. His father (who has passed away) had four wives.  Each wife has a small house and lives within 100 yards of each other on Paul’s family farm, or shamba as it is called in Kenya.  Paul’s birth mother was the first house we visited and had chai again.  Massai houses are very dark at night because they are built of mud and do not have many windows and no electricity for lighting.

Even though Paul’s father had four wives, Paul considers all of his father’s wives to be part of his family.  Paul’s birth mother, of course, has a special place in his heart; she is also the first wife.  Paul is also the first born son, and child, in his father’s family.  In Kenyan culture he is the son responsible for taking care of his parents, plus the other wives when the father passes on.

Soon after we finished our first cup of chai we were whisked off to one of the other wives’ house and had another cup of — you guessed it — chai! We began to wonder if we would be enjoying a cup of chai at each mother’s house before retiring for the night.  Luckily dinner was not far off.  Dinner consisted of a large portion of goat meat.  Our driver Patrick, who is also Massai but lives in Nairobi with his family, shared with us that the Massai love meat.  So we were really being honored with this meal!

That night we slept in a small mabati (corrugated metal) house.  During the night I woke to the sound of African termites eating the wood framing of the house.

Sunday morning after preparing for the day we were presented with more hot chai and bread with margarine for breakfast.  Then we were off to see the location for a future water well, then a church service at 10:30.  After surveying the location for a future water well we walked to the only source of water in the area (the private water well) and watched all the women and children collect water for the day.  Livestock also came to drink water from the well.  The owners of the livestock (cows, goats and sheep) are charged a certain amount for their livestock to drink from this water well.  One of the distressing things I saw was people and livestock sharing the same water.  Something we can work on for the future.

Church in Africa is very different from what we are used to in the U.S.  Praise and worship is usually in the native language, of course, and beautiful to hear and includes at least one or more drums and dancing.  Introductions are very important in this culture and never to be ignored – so we were each introduced during the service.  As visitors we were honored and received special gifts before the whole congregation.  The sermon is translated to English and was so long it took two people to help with the translation.

After three hours the service concluded with time for fellowship and what I would call Sunday brunch.  Everyone in the church had the opportunity to eat something.  The dish that I saw most people eating was a combination of maize (corn) and beans that had been cooked in a big pot.  We enjoyed a very generous portion of goat stew again in a small room of the church.

Later that afternoon we said goodbye to our gracious hosts and the church congregation, heading back to Ngatataik for the night.  Monday morning we would travel back to Nairobi to pick up Camille and head for the Mara, an eight-hour drive to join the rest of the team.  The two-hour drive back to Ngatataik gave me lots of time to think about the desperate need for water in Miton and how we might all be able to help through the Miton Community Christian Church.

1. travel mercies (jetlag would be minimal)
2. smooth transition as they return to their Kenyan routines
3. comfort as they miss Sara ~ this is their first return to Africa without her

Thank you so much for your continued prayers!

Blessings,
Jerrine

Click here for more information about Eleos Project. Please visit Mark and Camille’s Shepherd’s Staff web page to learn how to financially support them.

When these hand pumps stop working, communities have no choice but to return to traditional sources of water that can make them sick, and can even kill members of their family and community.

I wanted to take this opportunity to share an email I received recently from one of our partners in Kenya who was instrumental in the success of our work back in April.  This message helps us realize the long-term impact something as simple as a drop of clean, safe drinking water can have. 

…I met with Jake today, and he told me there was now a church meeting in the school at Oldoinyo Orasha, where you and your crew repaired the hand pump.  The people are so happy about having the water, and this is one way they are expressing it: going to church.  The Ewaso Ngiro CCC church leaders are guiding them.

I appreciate your partnership. May there be more in the future.

Dan

We always knew the community at Oldonyo Orasha would be happy to have their clean water again, but to hear they are now drinking the Living Water is truly something we can all rejoice about!  We are blessed to know that God has been glorified in this way.

Mark and Camille Purington

The week in Kisumu at Jack’s was a very busy week, starting out early in the morning, coming back late in the evening, eating dinner and helping with dishes, and falling into bed to repeat the routine the next day. In that time, we visited eight children’s homes, schools, and community centers. At each we delivered food, first aid kits and vitamins, and played and/or made crafts with the children. The following are some highlights:

• Gloria’s school had donated almost $3000 specifically for school uniforms to those children needing them in order to attend school. Jack had arranged for many children to be measured prior to our coming, and we were able to deliver them to some very happy recipients. Some of the uniforms that were being replaced were literally in shreds.

New uniforms!

• Several sites want to start or have started libraries, knowing that books in English are the best way for the children to be more fluent in the language and be better students. But books are very expensive and hard to come by. We were able to deliver hundreds of books for all reading levels and a variety of resource books to these sites.

• It was not uncommon for us to find very sick children at a school or orphanage. It was heartbreaking to hold these precious little ones, lethargic and burning with fever, barely able to recognize that a mazungu (white person) had picked them up, but nestling into our arms to be held and cuddled. Most of them suffered from malaria. We took some directly to the clinic for treatment, while for others we provided the funds to the caregiver to make sure the child received medical attention.

• As we have found in years past, the food we delivered was very much appreciated, as some had no food for the children. We literally provided “this day our daily bread” to these locations.

Mmmmm...porridge!

• Making crafts is a huge treat and cherished memory for the children. We made animal masks, decorated foam visors and bookmarks, strung beaded necklaces, created glittered letters of their names, to name a few. We threw Frisbees and horseshoes, batted balloons, blew bubbles, jumped rope, and played soccer (football). Both boys and girls alike were surprised and impressed by Courtney’s and Amanda’s ability to play soccer.

• Gloria’s school is interested in raising the funds for drilling a borehole (well) at a site in need of a clean and safe source of water. Most places are challenged with water issues, with the effects often compromising the health of the children. We gathered information at various sites to determine how their water is obtained, how safe it is, what the cost is, if children are getting sick from it, etc. We will bring this information home to prioritize the needs and create a plan.

• We had brought duffel bags full of shirts and shoes (mostly flip flops). Many children received new shirts and shoes, excitedly pulling their new shirt over the old one or looking down to admire their new shoes.

New shirt!

• Jack has helped to set up a clinic that will provide free health care for the orphan children in the area. They also provide home health services for the caregivers of the orphaned and vulnerable children. From your donations we were able to take the nurse to the chemist (pharmacy) to buy much needed medications, as well as 15 bed nets.
• The fourth graders at Gloria’s school have been corresponding with a Kenyan pen pal for the past year. We took pictures of all these children to share back home.
• At one school, a single classroom might contain 65 to 85 children for one teacher. Although 4 children might squeeze onto a bench-type desk, some still had to sit on the floor. We left money for more desks to be made.

After spending a wonderful week, although emotionally draining at times, we said a tearful good-bye to Jack and his family, with promises to keep in touch.

Jack's family

Not to be deterred by lack of sleep from traveling, Team Tatu started their first day in the Mukuru slums of Nairobi. We met with long-time friends Mary and Joseph Mambo of Cana Ministries, where they have a primary school, clinic, church, and rescue center for girls. The school has 220 children, ranging from preschool to grade 8, which fits into 10 small rooms (about 10 x 10 ft. each); eight teachers share the responsibility for teaching the different classes. Orphaned and vulnerable children from the slums are able to come to this school free of charge and receive two meals a day (when food is available).  However, Mary is saddened at the end of the day when they must return to the streets of the slums, often to fend for themselves.

Mary, who once had her own successful private clinic in Nairobi, now runs a clinic in the slums which provides HIV testing and services, maternity care and delivery, TB testing and treatment, child “welfare,” and family planning. In this small space of corrugated tin walls, some of the Mambos’ adult children now run the clinic’s pharmacy, lab, and other services.  Mary encourages women to come into the clinic to deliver their babies rather than have them at home with a midwife. This allows her to monitor the pregnancies as well as test the mother and newborn for HIV. She states that approximately 15% of the mothers test positive, and so she is able to immediately treat the newborns.   While we were there, three women had recently delivered and we held a day-old baby, a two-hour-old baby, and one just born.

The new girls at the Rescue Center with Courtney and Amanda

Bedroom in the Rescue Center

The children were instantly attracted and attached to Courtney and Amanda, being very blond, blue-eyed, and white-skinned girls. We found we couldn’t kneel down without curious hands reaching out to touch our arms, hair, and anything else that appeared new or different. They wanted their hands to be held, and you could not hold one without holding onto about six at a time. These children were hungry for our attention and love, and their wide smiles revealed their joy for receiving it. We enjoyed making foam crafts with them and left food and vitamins.

Tuesday, July 13

We got an early start for a long day of travel up to Kisumu, where we would spend the next week working with Jack Mila. You’ll recall from previous updates that Kisumu is located northwest of Nairobi on the shores of Lake Victoria. The drive through Kenya is surreal – right out of National Geographic. Most of the countryside we passed through is rural agricultural land. River crossings are busy places: cattle coming down to drink, boys washing their bikes, mamas washing clothes and laying them to dry on the bushes, and men filling large barrels with water to load onto donkeys or carts. Ahhh… Africa.

We arrived at Jack’s in the late afternoon, and the neighbor kids were waiting to play with the “wazungus” (white people).

Saturday, July 10, 2010

It was off to the Brydges site again today. For Spencer and Scott, this was a return visit as they worked there two days during Team Moja (One). For Gloria, this was her first time to see the beautiful property that will be the home for the Brydges children. Our goal today was to lay drip line on the rows of seeds that were planted by Team Moja. Up until today, the seeds had been hand-watered, but only when water was available. Some of the plants had started to grow. We saw beans, peas, corn and watermelon peeking through the mulch. It was a blessing to see these small plants that will soon be providing food for the children! Others will need some time with the drip line in place before we can determine if we need to reseed.

The water for the line comes from a tank that we have filled manually. We gather every container we can find at the Bells’ house, fill them from their tap, load the containers in the truck, haul them to Brydges and transfer the water to their tank. Not an easy job. Please pray that electricity comes soon and the plants will have the water they need.

Following our work at Brydges, Scott and Spencer headed back to the Bells’ to start the preparations to return home, while Gloria was taken to visit Jeff and Julie Vigil, who are Littleton friends now living in Nairobi since the beginning of this year. It was so good to see them comfortably settled into their home on the beautiful SIM (Serving in Missions) compound. I enjoyed meeting their new friends from literally all over the world.  Jeff is becoming quite proficient in Kiswahili, while Julie is adjusting to her new job in the SIM office. We had a wonderful reunion and time of getting caught up.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

On Sunday morning, Scott and Spencer joined the Bells at their church, International Christian Fellowship (ICF).  They enjoyed lunch at Village Market (shopping center) and did some last minute shopping.  Gloria attended a Kenyan church with a Western feel to it with the Vigils. However, we were the only wazungus (white people) there. Afterward Gloria enjoyed lunch with the Vigils at an Ethiopian restaurant and shopped at a Maasai market, bartering for those special deals.

All met up at the airport later, for Gloria to say goodbye to Spencer and Scott as they headed home and then to hang around to meet Beth, Courtney and Amanda Hall as Team Tatu (three) gets underway. The flight was two hours late, so the girls didn’t get to bed until 2:00 a.m., but they arrived safely nonetheless.

We have lots to fill you in on. Stay tuned…it’s coming soon!

Thanks for joining us on this Kenyan journey. We truly appreciate your partnership.

Team Mbili (Two)

Scott Olivett, Spencer Davis, and Gloria Scharton