Our Work in Africa

As the first borehole is completed at Ciamanda primary school, paid for by our Club, a reminder of how it began and what happens next?Water:  The Gift Of Life!

Our Club celebrates the completion of the first borehole in Embu, Kenya.  Proposer and instigator Malcolm Acors reports “We paid for this first pilot scheme at a cost of about $3000. The project has been a great success, creating local employment, enabling the children to have access to fresh clean water to drink, to wash themselves and the school and to grow fresh vegetables for school meals. They no longer have to rely on falling rain.  When there was no rain last year, the crop wilted and failed.  This year the first crop is planted and being watered from the new well.”

Next Steps

Malcolm explained “This is only the first step.  We still have a long way to go to complete the whole project for Embu.

“The aim is for six more boreholes to be dug, making seven in total” he told Members at the Business Meeting on January 21.  “For that we need to motivate the other International Rotary Clubs involved to come on board and help us finance the project, and we will also apply for a matching district grant to ensure we can deliver.”

Malcolm’s explanation came on the back of the brilliant brochure he has produced outlining the project in full.  This was circulated to all our members at the club’s Business Meeting.  We reproduce many of those images above.

Dramatic Images

Under the heading:  What Can We Do To Help? The brochure describes in dramatic words and images the state of play so far.  Malcolm attached an email he had circulated to Club Members and to the officers of Basildon and the other overseas Clubs whom he is urging to come on board.  They are the Rotary Clubs of Basildon, Beausoleil in France, Ovada and Alba in Italy and Karlshamn in Sweden.

He writes to them: “You may remember back in September during the Rotary Reunion Twinning Meeting in Beausoleil, I discussed a water aid project which the Billericay Rotary Club was promoting.  The pilot project to dig a borehole was completed during the Ciamanda Primary School’s Christmas break and is now up and running.
“The school now has a continuous supply of fresh clean water.  They do not now have to pay for or rely on an unreliable water supply - one that was available for only one hour a day, or use dirty river water that was definitely not suitable for drinking.

Crop Failings

Malcolm adds:  “We are now asking your Club to join us in drilling further borewells in the Embu district.  We have identified six schools desperately in need of a continuous supply of fresh water. As we have said before, when there was no rain last year, the crop wilted and failed.  We have sourced the well drilling and digging, and the piping up, locally at a very reasonable cost and all the ancillary equipment needed.

Part Payment?

“This approximately amounts to $3000 per well, $18,000 for all six. But, if we are successful in gaining a District Grant we would need to raise only $9000, $1500 per borewell. Outside your budget? Then consider making a part payment, maybe a similar amount as we committed last year to Life Straws.

Drilling even one more borehole would make a tremendous difference to hundreds of children and change their lives for the better. This money won’t be needed until after June 2020 as we have already completed this year’s project.

In the brochure, Malcolm headlines a page:  Water – The Gift of Life and adds: “Only with water is anything possible.  Without water nothing is possible.  Only through education can the knowledge be gained to lead the path for life sustainability, life quality, life without dependency, life for self-determination and life with a future for all and all who follow.”

Wish us luck!