Another key goal for Farmers Helping Farmers is raising money for rainwater storage tanks for Kenyan families. FHF is working with four women’s groups, connected to dairies that the organization is associated with.
Water tanks have a huge impact, explains Farmers Helping Farmers Project Committee Chair Ken Mellish.
"Without the water tanks, the women spend hours going to get water, "Mellish explains. "Once they have water, they can move on to other things, like working in their kitchen gardens and improving their field crops so that they can provide healthy fresh food and generate income for the family."
The concept of the water tank is simple. Pipes collect water that runs off the roofs of homes during the rainy season and funnels it into the tank. The water is used for drinking and cooking – usually after it has been boiled.
"The rainy season goes from October through December and then March and April," says Mellish. "They will stretch this water – most of them have 4600 litre tanks -- to make it through the months when it’s not raining. "
Donating a water tank is one of the targets for the Farmers Helping Farmers Holiday Campaign.
"Water can make such a difference," says Mellish.
Anyone who sponsors a water tank will have his or her name painted on the side of the container. Mellish says it’s exciting to travel through the region and see all the familiar names from back home on Prince Edward Island.