Water Mission, a Christian engineering nonprofit, is partnering with Procter & Gamble’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program (CSDW) on a program grant to provide safe water for thousands of people in Kenya. Water Mission and Africa Initiative for Rural Development (AiRD) will collaborate to implement two new sustainable, solar-powered safe water systems in Kenya’s notoriously drought-stricken Makueni County.
“Since 2004, we’ve worked with partners to help children and families around the world access clean drinking water using the P&G Purifier of Water packets,” says Claude Zukowski, Director of the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program. “While this innovative technology provides a short-term solution, the ultimate goal is to ensure that everyone has access to a safe and reliable source of clean water. For this reason, we’re pleased to help support this project with two of our long-term partners, Water Mission and AiRD, to improve the health and livelihoods of children and families by providing long-term access to clean water, and education on good health, hygiene, and sanitation practices.”
Makueni County is located in the arid eastern region of Kenya. This part of the country relies heavily on water from seasonal rivers that disappear during the dry season. The lack of access to water creates poor hygiene and sanitation resulting in adverse impacts to health, the environment, and the local economy.
“The absence of a reliable safe water source in this region of Kenya creates numerous health issues of which water-related illnesses are the most significant,” said Water Mission CEO and President George C. Greene IV, PE. “We’re thankful for partners like P&G who have a shared vision to positively impact thousands of people with sustainable safe water solutions. This safe water project will improve community health, increase school attendance, and positively impact the regional economy.”
The project will implement a sustainable solution to the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) situation for two communities in Makueni County. The project will result in affordable, clean, safe water, especially in communal locations such as schools and markets. Nearly 6,000 people across 1,000 households will directly benefit. 2,400 students are included within this total number of people impacted.
Water Mission is a safe water industry leader specializing in off-grid applications involving solar-powered pumping solutions. The organization has implemented more than 1,400 systems in similar conditions. The Water Mission team in Kenya will also work with residents in local communities to build out the people, processes, and systems needed to maintain and operate the water treatment systems on an ongoing basis. Additionally, Water Mission staff will provide WASH training in schools and other community locations to ensure positive and generational behavior changes in hygiene and sanitation. Once complete, Water Mission’s solar-powered water treatment systems here will produce an average of 8,600 gallons (32,500 liters) of safe water daily.
To learn more please visit watermission.org.
