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Water

In February of 2023, now WSS participant, Oliver Juma came to us, delivering this message: 

 

“Many years back, we used to get enough rain but at the moment, we are only getting rains for two to three months. The climatic changes and effects in our region have been affecting our farming activities. It’s been really tough for my family since we depend on farming for survival. We’re happy that we’ve started receiving some rain, but I was wondering if WSS can offer any advice or knowledge on how we can handle this situation. I was thinking that maybe they can help us with water harvesting from the rain, drilling of bore to get clean water for consumption and also for irrigation during dry season, and getting irrigation materials to the farmers. It would also be great if they can teach my family and my village people the importance of water conservation and efficient irrigation techniques.”

 

Oliver lives in a rural town called Malaha in Western Kenya. He helps his mother run a small ¼ family farm, which provides food for his family and his community. They grow corn, ground nuts, avocado, sweet potato and some vegetables. Oliver’s concern with the water situation in his region is amplified by the many people across Africa facing the same issues… Longer drought season and intense flooding when rains do come, making sustainable farming practices less and less possible. This only intensifies the feeling of food insecurity and perpetual survival mode. As we welcomed Oliver into our community, we began to understand the many challenges facing his family and community, not only with food, but with education and social dynamics as well. Here are some of the plights we heard about: 

 

  • pests get into the corn they have stored from their harvest – they need better food storage practices, 

  • scholarships issued by government for his sister’s school have been revoked – thus Dorothy, Oliver’s 22 year old sister only has 3 out of 4 years of a nursing degree,

  • families get larger and land stays the same size – land that a family owns has to keep getting parceled out to the sons of the family, leaving them with smaller amount of land to provide for more people, 

  • 80% of people are unemployed – causing those without jobs to get caught up in mischief

  • parents don’t encourage their children to go to school, 

  • daughters get married off for dowry instead of having a choice to go to school

We began to do some investigation and quickly learned that many young farmers in Kenya, specifically Homa Bay, Kisumu and Oliver’s Region are doing their best to grow lots of food and reforest the area in spite of and because of the undesirable drought conditions, and in some cases, are facing severe loss such as their donkey (that they use to fetch water) dying due to lack of water and all the crops they planted drying up. 

 

If you watch the movie based on a true story, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” on Netflix, you will see that the issues with water, food, education and deforestation are fundamental issues that need to be solved before these people can reach a state of sustainability, thriving, health and wellbeing. And we at Springboard Connectivity are devoted to helping create this for and with them.

 

We take for granted in the USA that we have flushing toilets, sinks in the kitchen, bathroom, and garage, hoses outside, sprinkler and irrigation systems for our yards. These people have ZERO water infrastructure albeit a small jerry can that they use to transport water from the river to their home. People are selling and buying water, fetching it from the river, or buying it from the well at the hospital. There is no reservoir that collects it and pumps it to their homes. They have to go fetch it.

 

 This presents many needs for people in these regions. 

  1. Wells

  2. Rain gardens

  3. Education on waterwise gardening practices

  4. Ponds, reservoirs, etc dug

  5. Filtration systems

  6. Irrigation systems

 

Springboard Connectivity is constantly raising money to install this infrastructure and is working with experts to find ways to get these people their foundational needs met so they can feed themselves and have a fulfilling life.

 

See our projects page to view the greatest needs for water and the amazing, talented farmers who are working to reforest Kenya and bring social empowerment to their communities. Let’s support them in their activities and let their communities flourish.