New Borehole Makuka Kenya 2014

Boreholes!  Most Americans would call them water wells, but whatever you call them, they make a life-changing difference in whole communities.  As they say "water is life" and it is very evident in the lives of individuals who have had life-long struggles with finding water for their families and their animals.

I was recently connected with Pastor Brandon Rainey of First Baptist Church, Rogersville, AL.  His church has connections in Kenya and they were made aware of the need for a borehole in Makuka, which is several hundred kilometers from Nairobi.  The need is great, and the church began raising funds to make this possible.  I was asked to help facilitate the drilling process and oversee this worthy project.

A few weeks ago, I went with the local pastor, Pastor Bosco, and Paul, of Great Ventures Company Ltd. (the drilling company) to Makuka for a site inspection.

If you could put a big red "X" between these two men, you would see where the proposed borehole will be drilled.

Our welcoming committee!  The local children saw the car pull up and surrounded us with welcoming smiles.

Pastor Bosco is from this area, so of course, it is a must that we visit his family while we were there.  This is his brother's home.  I was introduced to his sister-in-law, and was shown the home I will be staying in next week when during the drilling.

The traditional structures in this area are very different from the Maasai homes I am accustomed to visiting.  The building on the left is the kitchen, and the structure on the right is a storage area.

This is the chicken house.  In keeping with the Kamba culture, when we were leaving I was given a live chicken to take home with me!  I have never carried a live chicken home in a sack.  Life here is never boring.

As we were leaving the village, they wanted me to see where the local women get their water now.  I am not sure how far we were from the village, but it was not close -- perhaps a couple of kilometers.  The women have to carry 40 pound containers of water back to their homes.

We are standing on a dry river bed.  When they do get rains a few times a year, this dry bed swells with water, but most of the year, this is how it looks.

The women have to dig until they reach water.  Its not clean water, but their families and animals have to have water to sustain life, so they do what they must.

This is where they are currently getting water from.  They began with a small hole, but as the water table drops, the hole gets larger and deeper. The mounded up dirt is from the digging.  They surrounded the "pit" with scrub to warn others of its presence, and to hopefully keep children out of danger.

We entered the gate and began our walk downward to see the hole.

I am amazed at the depth of this hole and how much digging it requires.  It is sandy and loose.  We often slid as the sand moved.

This is the pit.  The branches you see below, are put across the opening to try to stem the collapse of the hole.  It doesn't always work.  Women have lost their lives as the hole collapses and they are buried under all that sand.

They most likely do this as a team, with some brave soul literally descending to the water level and passing the water upward and handing it off -- over and over again -- til everyone has their containers filled and the troughs outside the pit are filled so the animals can drink.

I zoomed a lot and got this picture of the actual water hole.

Here one of the men is standing on the supporting branches.  Very scary for me.  I can't even imagine this as a daily event in my life.

You can see how far down we were.  Those aren't natural hills behind us.  That is the sand that is mounded up as the women dig deeper and deeper.

We were running late that day trying to get back to Nairobi before dark.  I asked if we could bypass this hole and see it when I return for the drilling.  They said "no, because if it rains, the hole will collapse, the river will flow, and there will be no evidence it was ever there.  Can you imagine having to do this over and over again through the year between the rains?

Please pray for the drilling of the borehole in Makuka Kenya.  Pray for a successful well.  Pray for the safety of all concerned.  Pray for me as I travel to this remote village next Wednesday.  I plan to stay in the village for three days, and hope I get to see the water flow!  Please check back to see my blog update after the borehole is drilled.  I know you will see many smiles on the faces of the villagers.