New partnership provides water tanks that ensure steady supply for cooking, drinking and washing
“The water tanks at the Wendo women’s group are filled with water.” This was the report we received from FHF staff member Gikundi.
Farmers Helping Farmers formed a partnership with the Wendo Women’s Self Help Group. They are located in a semi-arid area which had been affected by drought but have experienced a reprieve with the rains of the last six months. This group has 24 members, 20 are women and 4 are men who are widowers of women who had been members. They are subsistence farmers with small farms where they grow primarily corn and beans when there is rain. In general, their soil is quite productive when there is some rain. When we start working with a group, the first step is to meet with the group and find out their needs. As always, they need a water supply. Water tanks will collect rain water when available and also store water from water piped to the area. The water supply will come from sources high on Mount Kenya and will be available on an irregular basis. The tanks will support a more regular supply.
In response to their request, FHF has recently installed large water collection tanks, 5,000 liters each, at their homes. FHF staff started installations in February and completed the job in March. Now the short rains are filling the tanks and will supply each house with water for months. Installation requires measuring the houses for gutter installation, building a concrete base, installing gutters, purchasing tanks and putting them in place. Traveling conditions in this area are difficult with some roads being goat paths at best. So big congratulations to staff, Gikundi, Mwenda, Salome and Eric for getting the job done!
The tanks were paid for with funds from the FHF Holiday Campaign and the Andreas Baur Foundation. These tanks will work for the families for years, and tanks installed in 2002 by FHF are still in use every day. Water is clean, in that it has no disease organisms, and is used for drinking, cooking , washing and watering livestock. Previously women have told us that with the water tanks they send their children to school “clean and on time”. The tanks also eliminate the hard labor of carrying water.
