Onto the 2nd batch of 18 Protected Springs

The day started at 6am I was "at" a Rotary meeting in Courtenay for about 5 minutes via Skype. Ironically it was the Canada side that failed.

Then, as usual, I jogged out the front door for 2 minutes, hopped on the back of a motorbike and got driven out about 5km to the back roads.  Paid with a 50Ks (60 cents) and started running into the bush.  Quite a few good trails in behind the tea fields.  Remember that big pig? This time the same guy (Im pretty sure) had two small pigs.  I don't know why, but with all the rick shaws and bikes and people walking around barefoot and beautifully dressed women among others in rags, pigs just add to the pageantry of it all.  I did about 13km.

At 10am we met with KASFOOC and discussed:

1. Details of hygiene training logistics (for 3 contractors too). Jackson had painstakingly walked through the entire community over a couple days collecting the names of all 124 attendees, effectively registering them and then printing and making photocopies for Rotary.  What a guy.

2. Alex business training for KASFOOC widows and Impact farmers.  Part 2 is on Feb 18th transportation fare will not be supplied.

3. Protected spring status.  First 18 are 95% done.  Shallow wells may be needed in two places at extra cost.

4. Virtues training. this is a one day course in cooperation.  it can be scheduled for after we are gone as everyone's plates are getting pretty full with the training.


5.  Inspection of next 18 springs does not require a special trip just for Terry.  Let me know when Jackson tours contractors and he will tag along.

6. Fish farmers DCG.  The grant I have to empower fish farmers is the toughest challenge of the trip.  Its easy to train fish farmers, give them fingerlings, feed, fertilizer etc  But how to make it sustainable?  I am hoping the Alex training will have an effect.  Right now the hands are out, but is the committment to run these ponds like a business really there? Will they just grow the fingerlings Rotary provides and give them all away with no saving for the next re-stocking? A one-hit wonder?  We discussed several ideas here, but it is tricky.  Oh for the days where charities just threw stuff out of the back of the truck, had a party and sailed into the sunset .  Damn Rotary's policy to make the grant self sustaining ;0)



The first 18 PS's are 95% complete.  A few more need fencing; to be done by Sunday.  So it was time to show the contractors the next batch.  Jackson, 62, gave me about 10 minutes notice it was time to go.  I ran out the door, met them at Nakumat, a motorcycle was arranged and waiting for me, it was about 33 degrees, and away we went.  Me on the back of one and he and contractor Nixon on the back of the other bike.  These sites are closer than the last 18 so less hiking was involved.  Jackson and Nixon were wearing dress pants and dress shoes and they nimbly raced through the rough steep terrain to one spring after another, leaping ditches as they talked on their phones and to the folks who came out to greet us.  It was a great pace, a good workout.

I learned from Nixon that 2 of the springs were dry and would need a shallow well at a cost of an extra 10,000 Ksh per ($122).  The problem is thy were not flowing and they were in a flat spot.  They showed me a shallow wel (28 feet) that Nixon had just built for Tembo Nov 2011.

Shallow well by Tembo.  It costs about 15% more, but is good where flow is intermittent.

This is a cheap protected spring, costs about 1/3 of ours. No steps,standing in muck.

PS# 25 Mulusiola- Will be finished by Sunday. Right beside the cheap PS above which villagers are not allowed to use.

PS#19 The chlorine dispenser was put there by http://www.oneacrefund.org/.  They will install 300K.  Its a good back up to ensure water is safe year round.

PS#22 Mwichina. This is widely used spring on a steep riverbank.  Nixon the contractor is checking it out. His crew will start working on it this Monday Feb 6th.

Mwitubi PS#20 at least there is still water after months of no rain.

Nixon pointing at eucalyptus trees that suck all the water out of the ground PS#21

PS# 27 Shikangia-One of the worst I have seen so far.  A source of dirty water and malaria. May have to be a shallow well as it is in a flat spot with no flow.

PS#23 Shipera just a wetspot, but enough water to justify a good source.

I am not sure if I mentioned this but we will be under budget for the springs.  The reason?  our Rotarians from Kakamega had a good look over the costs and said that villagers must supply sand and big rocks.  Now it t'would've been lovely if RC Kakamega had said this a year ago when we collected the estimates, but better late than never. So we will have extra money as we come across extra challenging water sources.  So far 3 have been identified as costing an extra $122, but RC Kakamega has saved us $140 PER spring (so far).  I am assuming our co-grant sponsors will be OK with building a few extra springs if funds allowed?  RC Kakamega would like to see supplies go to Rotary High School. We shall cross this bridge in a few weeks.

As we trekked at high pace, on and off the bikes, Grace called.  The hygiene training was set for Feb 9 and 10 for 124 villagers (62 each).  The costs were estimated for food, books and transport.  Good news.

The Balanced Stone perched at the very top of a hill.  The sun was so glaring this is the only angle we could snap a pic from.  Kids were lying around under it getting shade- it was 34 degrees celsius.

We finished the high pace tour after 2 hours and I had time to have a Krest Bitter Lemon soda before heading to Rotary High School (this school is hurtin' for supplies, teacher salaries, everything) to meet the Rotaract Club which was launching an Interact Club.  It was a packed room, but very efficiently managed by the 15 Rotaracters who spoke very easily to the 40 or so high schoolers present.  Tanya, Alinda and Sandra all gave very rousing motivational speeches as they were asked to do.  I got big applause for saying "Good evening, my name is Terry, I am from Canada" in Swahili.  After that it was a big photo shoot (pics in Tanya's camera). Nice to see the Rotary Wheel on the school uniforms.