The Samburu Project aims to provide easy access to clean, safe drinking water to communities throughout the Samburu District of Kenya. Over thirty clean water wells have been completed thus far, serving over 30,000 of the 150,000 individuals living in Samburu’s Eastern Region. With this new access to water, the community has seen a number of improvements including:

• Increase school enrollment for girls who no longer have to walk 15+ miles per day in search of water
• Decrease in miscarriages, which were common because of the long searches for water
• Decrease in intestinal and digestive issues due to unclean water
• Increase in livestock farming with water trough systems
• The simple benefits of clean clothes
• Increased time for other initiatives

In 2008, MNSF gave a $6,500 grant to the Samburu Project for the purchase of a generator, helping to complete a drip irrigation farming system for the Milimani Women’s group. Recently we had time to look at some of the benefits of this grant and the results are astounding!  In fact, MNSF recently awarded The Samburu Project  a second grant of $16,500 to implement a second farming initiative. Some of the results from the  first farming initiative include:

• 150,000 individuals now have access to locally grown, fresh produce for the first time
• The women’s agricultural group produces food for their families, regardless of rainfall
• Income for farming group increased from $6,000 USD annually to approximately $52,000 USD annually
• Women now employ workers, including their husbands, at their farm
• The group is making no-interest loans available to themselves and other community members for business  development

As one of the most arid regions in Kenya, this gift of water is life-giving to the Samburu People, and this new grant will enable them to continue to sustainably develop and thrive as they work to improve the community in which they live.