Project Overview
The Water Harvesting Project
Did you know that in the Suswa region of Kenya, homes do not have water systems and villagers collect water from nearby ponds and ditches in the dry season?
Did you know that when there's no water at home, women and children will often walk 20 KM round trips just to collect water of poor quality?
Did you know that water from borehole wells in Suswa contains high levels of fluoride, which is not safe for human consumption? Nearly half of them are abandoned within 12 months of installation due to the inability to maintain them.
The problem in rural Africa is not a lack of water, but a lack of water management. Help us put an end to a major crisis that puts 17 million people in Kenya without clean water!
The Rotary Club of Vancouver Yaletown is collaborating with the Rotary Club of Hurlingham in Nairobi, Kenya on a series of water projects. The purpose of these projects is to provide clean drinking water and systems, improve community health and education, and enhance educational opportunities for students for four rural schools in the Suswa region of Kenya. The schools do not have a sustainable source of water to supply the schools and their communities, which in turn affects student health and retention, particularly for female students who are often the ones sent to fetch water at long distances.
The project will involve the installation of large capacity water collection and storage systems, which will be able to provide a sustainable water supply to the schools throughout the year. The advantage of this system is that it will be built using local labour, skills, expertise and technology that is simple to maintain. This gives the local community ownership and responsibly for their water management. The project will also include proper sanitation facilities and a health education program, and assistance with school supplies for students.
Through our club's continuous commitment to the Rotary Foundation, a public charity that transforms donations into matching funds for service projects, our project will qualify for both Rotary District and Global matching grants which would ultimately turn $1 raised by our club into $3.50 worth of project funds.
“Freshwater is the most important resource for mankind, cross-cutting all social, economic and environmental activities. It is a condition for all life on our planet, an enabling or limiting factor for any social and technological development, a possible source of welfare or misery, cooperation or conflict.”United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
For full details of the project, please browse through each navigation tab.
Thank you for your support!
