By Judy Gachathi | Project Leader
Poverty Eradication Network (PEN) would like to thank all who participated in the Mutulani Water project fundraising campaign November 25 to December 31, 2013. Your support enabled PEN to gain a permanent spot on the Global Giving website where we will continue raising fund for the Mutulani water project as well as post new projects for worthy causes in our community. Your contributions will help the women and children of Mutulani get one step closer to accessing clean, safe water at their door step.
PEN has been able to garner support of 54 donors and raised a total of USD $ 2,351 of which we have received the first disbursement of net ksh. 162,983.
Since the amount raised is not close to the budgeted amount of USD $ 35,294. PEN will be mobilizing the local community to engage with well-wishers to raise more funds and also initiate other campaigns to raise the full budget.
Rainfall in Makueni County ranges from 150mm to 650 mm per annum typical of ASALs in Kenya[1]. Mutulani villagers have indicated that the water situation has been bad since the beginning of draught in mid December 2013 to date as they have been walking long distances to get to the nearest water source. The region did not get much rain, leading to the water pans/ sources drying up and so far, the food crops on their farms have dried due to lack of rainfall and a major population in the area is faced by food crisis.
Wish list from the Mutulani Community
Discussions with women of Mutulani Village brought to the fore the need for water tanks installed nearer their homes so they do not have to walk far to get enough water for their families without the back aches they experience from repeated trips to water points. The water in the tanks can also be treated to prevent contamination from source and any water borne diseases.
Yvonne a girl from Mutulani Primary school is hoping to get a borehole dug near the school so the children do not have to waste time fetching and carrying water tot school also that they have access to clean and safe water to drink hence remain hydrated and healthy free from water borne diseases.
The principals of both the Primary and Secondary school in Mutulani expressed their concern at the lack of water in school and neighborhood. They have to buy water from vendors; the secondary school principal had this to say; ‘Purchasing water for school use is expensive and takes ¾ of the annual budget, we use about 50 Jerry cans of (20 liters) water per day which cost over ksh. 10,000 ($116)’
The future plans for Women and Children of Mutulani is to invest in water harvesting techniques in their homesteads so as to access water at shorter distances and practice irrigation agriculture to secure the food situation. The community is hoping that the funds raised will also be used to educate them on water harvesting and treatment technologies so as to uplift their living standards.
PEN will also be looking to link the community project with the County Government and other agencies that handle Water, Sanitation and Hygiene matters so that the Mutulani community has the required support infrastructure to sustain the project.
Thank you again to all who donated to this cause and we shall continue to keep you updated on the progress.
[1] http://softkenya.com/makueni-county/
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