Friends and Supporters,

Thank you!

The project that your support helped enable our team to complete in Kipingi, Kenya was an unbelievable personal experience for me and a turning point in the lives of those in the Kipingi Village. I would like to describe for you just a few moments from the trip that were important to me to give you a feel for the project and it's impact.

The experience of seeing the entire village turn out spontaneously as water started flowing was simply indescribable. As the drilling had dragged on for over a week already by that point, the vibrant crowds that we started with had slowly thinned to just a few stragglers. Somehow, without any evident communication, at least a hundred women and children showed up within minutes of the start of our test pumping. I can only describe the crowd that day as "jubilant." Everyone was singing and playing in the stream of crystal clear water.

Another day Jami and I were making the rounds of the local homes, talking to everyone about who we were, why we were there, and inviting them to attend the community training that we were planning to hold the following week. Caught in the rainstorm at an older widow’s home, I sat on the floor (drawing huge laughs from the women) as they taught us the right way to peel cassava. I did my best to “communicate by example” our respect for them, especially the women of Kipingi who work incredibly hard to support their families and communities. This was probably the best single moment of the trip for me.

In addition to our work at Kipingi, our team spent a lot of time building relationships with influential local leaders, government ministries and other NGOs. Kelly and I spent one afternoon visiting a local orphanage and school run by a bishop who turned out to be a very helpful in our efforts to build community ownership of the well. On our visit, we took a look a pump that they were having trouble with which was very similar to our installation. While neither of us could be described as a “pump expert”, the simple fact that they had engineers on site was valuable. We were able to give them some advice on what was probably wrong, and also information on how much it should cost. It was absolutely wonderful to be able to assist a local group and put our professional skills to use for them.

Thank you again for your support over the past two and half years that I have been working on this project and the five years that we have been engaged with it as a chapter. This has been one of the most challenging and rewarding phases of my life and I look forward to more EWB projects in the years ahead. Clean water as well as the social and organizational skills to sustain it can be life changing for many in Kipingi and this experience was certainly life changing for me.

With sincere thanks,

Rick Kuehn, Health & Safety Officer, Kipingi Project

Well Repairs in Kipingi are just too fantastic. Ehhhhhh!

Bill and Rick reviewing the composition of the sand for the new concrete pad

Kipingi kids and Rick collecting aggregate for the final concrete batch

Kipingi kid volunteer team

The new Secretary of the Water Committee- Spent Three Days Repairing the Well with his child in tow!

Bill the Mason

The number of people who came out to help was amazing

A sermon on social and communal responsibility

The new Chairman addressing the community.  Since his inauguration he has attended every meeting and provided real roles and action items (both long term and short) to the team.  

The complete water team - sans Maurice, a Pour Attendant

The complete water team - sans Maurice with the EWB team 

The water committee meeting about the schedule for the next day.  This team appears to really take their responsibilities seriously.

Rick and the kids after a hard day's work fist bumping

The water committee and the kid volunteers  cleaning up after the first day of well repair finishes

Rick attempting to carry the rock Kenyan style.  Immediately after this photo Rick dropped the rock.

The real men of Kipingi. I wish we had met these men sooner.  They are amazing.

Water Use Reporting and NGO Liaisons

Water Committee Officers responsible for maintaining regular contact with EWB-NNJ and other NGO and faith based groups who can bring more projects to the Kipingi Village.

The Water Use Reporting Officer will be keeping in touch with EWB-NNJ and the Health Ministry to report on hygienic use of the well, hand washing and sanitation concerns, and any unhygienic procedures followed by community members. Follow up action will be considered by EWB-NNJ, other NGOs, and the Health Ministry Representative, Mr. Tom Boi upon identification of hygiene concerns.

Maintenance Supervisor and Pour Attendants

Members of the Water Committee responsible for village level maintenance, scheduling of additional maintenance, and monitoring of proper pump use and maintenance of clean environment around the pump.

Pictures of the Water Committee Executive Officers

Not Mancala

We've been watching this game for weeks and finally got someone to explain it to us. It looks a lot like Mancala like we play it in at home, but the rules are very different. After a few games, Kelly had taken a few wives and beaten me in 3 out of 5 games.

Weekend Update with George Nagel

Week 2 was a very eventful week. The temporary pump test from last week had us energized and feeling great!

Monday the temporary pump was pulled out as the 24 hour test demonstrated that the static water level was going to be at 60m deep. The decision was made to lower the permanent hand pump, to 72m. A water sample was sent to Nairobi (7 hour drive) for chemical and biological analyses. During the afternoon, part of the group went to the "local" clinic to view the installation and potential water situation. The clinic had actually undertaken some reasonable efforts in rainwater collection and storage.

While at the clinic, some of the group, along with our accompanying teacher/interpreters, visited a nearby tobacco buying/receiving/ shipping facility while two of the members remained on site to oversee installation of the final pieces of pipe through which the water will be drawn from the well.

Tuesday, two of us, including yours truly, were not feeling up to par (to be positive) and remained at the guesthouse for the day. The others, on site, had the pleasure of attempting to hold the local mason, chosen by the contractor, to constructing the pad surrounding the pump according to specs. Suffice it to say that the Kenyan techniques for foundation preparations and concrete preparation are not the same as those to which we are accustomed. The on-site members spent the balance of the day demonstrating, or at least attempting to, on instructing the locals on concrete mixing, de-aereation and compaction of concrete.

Wednesday, all hands on deck today! Chlorine was added to the well to commence a 72 hour sterilization step, despite the fact that untreated water analysis results had not yet been received (government mandated requirement). The contractor finalized assembly and installation of the pump head and finally pumped some water! Flow was clear, though a little slower than I had hoped.

A colleague and myself went into Migori in the afternoon to meet to with the Water Ministry to finalize the details of the training program for the villagers scheduled for next week. When we got back to the site, the pad was still being worked on. At our insistence and with the assistance of a village mason who was fluent in English, we finally got through to the original contractor essential finish details. Ended up another dawn to dark day.

Thursday, as water sterilization continued and concrete curing continued, and on-site work was on hold, we decided to take a day off to visit a nearby game park. After a few detours and mis-turns, our driver found a way to be on a VERY rough "road", having no visible automobile traffic. In fact, it was so narrow that the tracks in the dirt indicated that it was only used by motor scooters! At one point I actually got out of the van to determine if the passage over a partially collapsed culvert was wide enough for the wheels of the van to pass. After continuing a few kilometers further down the "road" the driver pulled off the side and shut off the engine. A cursory examination revealed a broken oil pan (in the middle of nowhere!) Fortunately, a motor scooter came by shortly later and gave the phone number of a "local" mechanic. At about the same time, the only 4 wheel vehicle we had seen in the past 2 hours (and would see for the next 5 hours) came by and offered a tow. This worked well for about 200m when the tow strap broke due to having to pass over more rocks. The vehicle's owner was an official with the electoral commission, and offered to take us to the district office, and left us his phone number. As the mechanic was on the way, we opted to stay with the van for a while longer. After the mechanic finally arrived, assessed the situation, and removed the oil pan to take to his shop for welding, we opted to call for a ride. The balance of the day was spent in the commission offices until they closed. We then inspected a new "guest house" as a fall-back position, and retired to a local restaurant for something to eat. We finally heard from our driver that "repairs" had been finished and he was on the way. With his sense of direction, we were VERY surprised that he actually showed up an hour or two later. The drive back to Migori was a real butt clenching experience each time we passed over one of the ubiquitous rocks in the road. Just to make things even more interesting, the van started stalling periodically for no reason in the middle of absolutely nowhere. FINALLY, we got back home late in the evening, exhausted, and ready for bed. (By the way, we never did get to the game park).

Friday, we continued our newly discovered technique for determining school population by offering to give a pencil to each student at the new, local primary school. (We'd previously determined that "official" estimates of a school's student population are usually suspect) While there we assessed the viability of usage of rain water collection to supply the school's requirements (possible future project). We then continued to the larger, Machicha primary and secondary school to meet and address the scheduled, student's parent association to outline what THEY could do to raise funds and implement a rain collection system for the school. A treat, prior to the meeting, was a student singing and dancing routine to thank us for our efforts. It was very touching and enjoyable.

After the school assembly/meeting we hit the road for Kisumu (third largest city in Kenya and located on Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile River) for Team 1 to fly back home and meet participants from Team 2. Got back to Migori early evening and happy to be "home" at the guest house.

Sunday, today, we revisited the site to inspect the site and review things with Team 2 members. While there, George, one of our local contacts, stopped by say hello. We asked him to show us the location of a nearby project, which we examined for ideas. Following this inspection, we got back home mid-afternoon.

Until next week, when we begin 4 days of training, we wish you a good week.

George