Implementation of Lemasusu Church and Nursery School Water Supply and beginning of Imaroro Community Borehole – December 2021

I never actually thought that water could be a Christmas gift – given the amount we have here in Ireland – but I was wrong!

After completion of our first project in Oltiasika, our progress became very limited due to the various covid lockdown measures and we were unsure about when to start with the next project. Then in late September 2021 restrictions were lifted and in the space of about two weeks I found myself back in Kajiado – ready to start building the water tank in Lemasusu and with a plan to begin the drilling of a borehole in Imaroro.

We wanted to target the arrival of the rains for the building of the tank in Lemasusu because a freshly built tank needs a certain amount of water to maintain its levels of moisture to avoid cracking, which means it remains in good condition for many years to come.  Building the tank in October meant it was ready for the expected rains in November and therefore a full tank of clean and safe drinking water by Christmas. Lemasusu now has a 75,000 ltrs capacity block-built tank which is sealed to keep water fresh. This is connected to a secure water catchment system to ensure the water remains clean as it enters the tank. An easy to maintain water distribution point was also built that will serve this community for many years to come.   

Clean Water – The Best Christmas Gift

The completed tank

The Lemasusu community is made up of more than 300 people who will now have a secure source of water for many years to come. The children attending the local schools will have more time to actually be in school because their water supply is close to hand. I spoke to Elizabeth who lives nearby and this is what she said:

For a project like this to succeed it takes a large number of people to work together – especially for fund raising – so that the full amount is available for the building work to start. We had various sponsored events with Water Walk Teams, individuals and Churches and a total of £16,220.54 was raised. The Water Walk was a challenge for people to walk 12 miles – replicating the average distance most people in Kajiado have to walk in order to find water. This gave people a glimpse of what it might be like to actually have to walk this distance for the most basic of commodities – water.

Maggie and I really want to express our appreciation to everyone who helped in any way to make all of this possible –the Christmas gift for the people of Lemasusu is water! The total cost of this project was £11,748.71. This means that the total available for the next project is £4,471.83. The Lemasusu project was completed under budget – mainly due to the significant difference in the exchange rate from the time of estimating to the time of building. Also completing well within the targeted timescale means that this has been a very successful project.

While I was in Kenya, I also managed to begin our next project which is drilling a borehole for the community in an area called Imaroro. We were able to complete the drilling process and had the pleasure of seeing water gushing up into the air when we struck it! We targeted a borehole of 250m deep but in the end we had to go to 280m to find the water. The next stage is the solar installation for the pumping of the water and building a holding tank to store the water. The cost of the drilling process was £16,600.00.

WATER DROPS have numerous projects lined up for the coming year and have confidence that we will be able to achieve them due to the success of the Lemasusu project, the experience we have gained and the way people came together to see it completed. Our main focus for next year will be fund raising to do as many of our projects as possible.

As you all have blessed the people of Lemasusu – so you too will be blessed!

 Proverbs 11:  25 says: ‘The one who waters will himself be watered!’