Video from Kenya

Hand Pump Starts Church in Maasai Tribal Area, Kenya

Back in April we had the privilege of working with an outstanding group of Kenyans and Americans to repair a broken mechanical hand pump at a water well in a rural Maasai tribal area in Kenya.  Hand pumps are used for water wells in remote areas of developing countries where there is no electricity.  These pumps use human power to bring life-sustaining, clean, safe drinking water to hundreds of vulnerable people every day.

A Tearful Farewell to Jack and His Family

Wednesday, July 14 through Wednesday, July 21

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

Saying Goodbye to Team Two and Welcoming Team Three

Pole sana! (Very sorry!) We’ve been going non-stop, falling into bed after long days with no energy to write. We’ll briefly update you here with more to come in a day or so…

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

On to Salem Secondary School

Saturday – 6/19/10

Today we went to go help out at the Salem Secondary School. Here their water tank was putting too much pressure on the platform causing it to collapse. So we showed up to make a better platform. We had to pump out 10,000 liters of water from the tank into the well so that we would be able to move the tank while working on the platform. While we were waiting for the water to pump out we went across the street to Salem Children’s Home. We spent lunch time with the kids and we helped feed the babies. These kids were so cute!

Audrey feeding a baby

Once the tank was drained we went back over to continue making a platform. We dug a huge hole so we would be able to fill it with cement to make the platform more stable. We had to empty two trucks full of rock and sand to make the cement with:

Audrey and Ed emptying the truck

It was a long day full of hard work but ultimately great because it will give the school a better foundation for their water tank.

Scott, Edward, Christina, Spencer, and Audrey

Sunday – 6/20/10

Today we went to a church that Jack (whom we are staying with) is familiar with. The worship was fabulous and God was truly present in the building. About an hour before church started we were informed that one of us would be responsible for delivering the message. Fortunately Scott was prepared and gave a lovely message about hope. The rest of us got up and gave some words of encouragement and read a passage for them (they loved Audrey’s verse!).

Christina

Scott dedicating a baby

We also dedicated babies while at church and Scott took part in the ceremony and prayed with the families. After church we joined in some fellowship and ate some food with our new friends.

After that we went for a drive with Pastor Seline to look at their facility for the elderly and orphans. They have five acres and big dreams. While we were there, we met a woman who was 105 years old. She was unable to walk, see, or hear, but she was happy to see us and was thankful for the prayers we said over her. There are a lot of opportunities and potential for development of new buildings and expansion on the plots. Their plan is to take half the land and dedicate it to the elderly and the other half for orphans, crops, and chickens.

Next we stopped at the Nakumatt and bought 120 kilos of rice and 120 kilos of beans along with sugar and soap. Then took a ride to Kit-Mikayi, which means stone of the first wife, and is about a 45-minute drive north from Kisumu. Here we delivered the supplies, the girls danced with the women and we got to tour the beautiful rock formation. It was a lot of fun and the rocks where so cool, it was truly a blessing to see them.

Audrey and Christina

Overall it was a brilliant day, we got back late and had another fabulous dinner at Jack’s, and now I am off to bed!

Hand pump repair

We are happy to report that the hand pump repair at the Oldonyo Orasha Primary School was successfully completed by our team on April 22. This hand pump is located in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya about 10 kilometers from the rural town of Ewaso-Ngiro.  Ewaso-Ngiro is southwest of Nairobi and by road is about 2.5 hours driving time.

A final update on the Brydges borehole

This is the final update on the Brydges Centre borehole (water well).

After a borehole is drilled and casing is installed the borehole must be tested for the volume of water it will produce.  This is called test pumping and can take up to 24 hours. The Brydges borehole tested at over 8,500 liters per hour. That’s a lot of water! Enough water for 425 people every hour or enough water 10,200 people a day.

An electric submersible pump has been installed and in the future, a tower and water storage tank will be installed.

The pictures were taken the day of the test pumping. As you can see, the Brydges children really enjoyed playing in the water, something they rarely get to do here in Kenya because water is so scarce and not to be wasted. This water will be a huge blessing for the Brydges Children’s Home.

Asante sana (thank you) to all our partners and donors for your contribution and partnering with Eleos Project and our clean water initiative “Never Thirst Again” in Africa.



Water!

Greetings from Kenya!

Just a quick update on the Brydges borehole (water well) in Kitengela, Kenya. On Wednesday afternoon the drilling crew and equipment from Water for the World arrived at the drilling site. After about an hour of getting the equipment set up, the crew decided to drill and set the temporary casing. This all went well, so the crew decided to continue drilling and by 6 PM had drilled to about 40 meters and stopped for the night.

Water Well Drilling Starts on Thursday

Site of new Brydges children’s home south of Kitengela, Kenya

Greetings from Kenya!

Camille and I are still in Kenya to oversee our two clean water projects that have been delayed. Today we received news that the last official document needed for drilling at the new Brydges Children’s Home has been approved and drilling can now begin. PRAISE GOD!

Greetings from Kenya!

Brydges Centre ground breaking with founder Rosemary Wafula

We have had a great experience here in Kenya. After arriving on the evening of 3 March and getting a good night’s sleep, Scott and I hit the ground running, scheduling meetings and all the other things we hoped to accomplish.

The first couple of days are always rough due to jetlag, and this trip was no exception. Our first priority has been the new water well, or borehole as it is called in Africa, at the new Brydges Children’s Home in Kitengela just outside Nairobi. Unfortunately, the driller contracted to drill the bore hole has been delayed due to complications at another bore hole. This has set the timing back on the bore hole at Brydges Centre until sometime in April.  We are trying not to be discouraged as this was one of the main focuses of our time here; however, in Kenya it is impossible to make things happen just because “we are here and this is our plan.”