Striking the Water of Life in Kenya

The site was located in one of the areas of Kenya that was hit last year by the drought, the worst in six decades, that impacted millions of people in several parts of Eastern Africa.

But the site looked good. Located in Mwatate, Kenya, it sits in a low, level valley and the lush vegetation was proof of water nearby compared to the dry land around it.

So, this is where the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) and its local partner, ACK (Anglican Church of Kenya) Pwani Christian Community Services, decided they would drill a borehole with hopes to hit water and be able to set up a pump and well.

And people living in this area also hoped the borehole would find much-needed water — enough for drinking, to use in cooking and to water the withered fields.

The well project is part of CRWRC’s East Africa drought response in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia and is funded, in part, through CRWRC's membership in the ACT Alliance, an alliance of 125 churches and related organizations that work together in humanitarian assistance, advocacy and development.

As part of its response to the drought, CRWRC provided emergency food, but also explored ways to improve infrastructure so that communities in the drought-stricken area could have more reliable sources of water in the future.

This included working with community members to build what are called “water pans” that could capture and retain rainfall during the rainy season. It also included installing rain-harvesting systems on numerous schools and drilling the borehole.

Before drilling the borehile, CRWRC and ACK representatives wondered how deep they would need to go to find enough water to serve the needs of families in 12 communities in Mwatate, Kenya.

With this question in mind, workers started to drill.

“The drilling went well, although they did encounter rock after about 78 meters,” said Hilda Van Gyssel, who is serving as an International Relief Manager with CRWRC in Kenya with her husband, John.

But, she said, “within a good day they had already gone as far down as they needed to.”

Once they had reached the water, the workers put in casing, flushed out the borehole, and then set to work building a cement base and a pump.

People in the area were thrilled to learn that the well should be the source of abundant, life-giving water.

“It should be a very high-producing well,” said Van Gyssel. “This borehole will produce a good supply of safe, quality water because it is so deep...The first estimate says that it is producing 15,000 liters of water per hour.”

After being tested, the pump will be hooked up to a pipeline and water will be sent to a large holding tank and then piped out to the various communities. When completed, this borehole should be able to supply water to about 2,500 households.

While the people of the area were very grateful that CRWRC and its partner reached water, the Van Gysells say that local residents are not the only ones who feel gratitude.

“The people here have touched us to the core. They are mothers and grandmothers, fathers and grandfathers, children and grandchildren who, even at this point, are still struggling to have food in their homes,” said Hilda Van Gyssel.

“They are incredibly thankful for the opportunities CRWRC has given them. They are a beautiful people, our sisters and brothers, and we celebrate with them. The T-shirts we are wearing say, ‘Water is life....Maji ni uhai’. Amen to that! God is good!”