Akili School Water Project Feb 2016 Report

3/1/2016

Posted by: David Omondi

Water tanks at Akili School

“It is so warm here! I have never slept in such a nice place before! We really love it here, teacher!” are some of the reactions of the Akili girls when they joined the new boarding school on the 5th of February 2016. They kept talking for the better part of the night, too excited to sleep.

One parent couldn’t hide his joy at the thought of her daughter Faith joining the boarding school. He has 2 teenage girls who have both fallen prey to the men in the slum who have made them pregnant, almost making them to drop out of school. “I was getting worried of how I was going to raise Faith in a day school in Obunga. Thank you for building this boarding school. I am confident she will succeed because of this school,” he said.

It has been our joy to partner with you all to build this boarding school for the underprivileged girls of Obunga slum and Obambo Community. How beautiful it has been to see volunteers from all over the world pull together to help our cause! It is making all the difference and we are optimistic that by giving these girls a platform to dream and be who they want to be in life, they will ultimately achieve their visions and be important people in the community.

We were privileged to work with our global advocate Rachael from Australia, her parents and a group of 14 volunteers from Life Point Church, AZ, USA who worked tirelessly painting classrooms and dormitory walls, building 4 preschool classrooms in Obunga, a school kitchen, latrines and buying chicken for our poultry project in Obambo. We also enjoyed working with 4 volunteers from Red Cross University Sweden for 3 weeks in February. They empowered our girls and teachers through sessions on UN Convention on Women rights, HIV/AIDS, Rape, and Self Esteem among others.

Through your generous donations of $1,769 on this platform, $250 from the JDC Trust USA, $10,000 from Deeper Missions Org USA and $4000 from Trish and Greg Yoccum of the Life Point Church, USA, we are acquiring a permit from Water Resources Management Authority to drill a permanent well at the Akili Girls School by the 4th of March 2016. Our target is to reach $18,000 so that we can both drill the well and purchase a pump to supply the water to various points of use including bathrooms/showers, kitchen and the toilets. We have $2000 to go.

This being a community where water is scarce with women and children having to walk for as far as 2km to fetch dirty water from shallow ponds and seasonal streams, we are looking forward to setting up a water kiosk where we would sell access to water at affordable fee to the community. The community water point/tank we plan to build will ensure that the community can get affordable water which is clean and reduce the time they spend walking or cycling to the present water points as well as reduce incidences of water borne diseases.

We deeply value your commitment to stand with us to ensure that our girls get the quality education that they need to break free the cycle of poverty and change our community.

Asante Sana!