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Achievements to date |
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The groups currently operating with
Friends of Kitui are
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Read
about our work under the various headings at the top of this
page,
and see for yourself how we can achieve huge benefits with very little
money. So be assured- your contribution will go a long way. |
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Knitting machine in Endau
Polytechnic donated by Dalkey Outreach |
| Water Projects Achievements |
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The
"Wells for Africa" campaign organised by Sheila
and Gerry has now raised funds for water projects serving
almost 3000 people in Kitui. The first two wells
constructed were at Musuoni (funded by Loreto School) and
Kiatineni (funded by the Seaver family). During my most
recent visit at the beginning of April 2007, I visited
a further three sub-surface dams at Ngathano,
Makolongo and Kitula which were at that time
nearing completion.
"Wells
for Africa" originally set out to fund
seven water projects in Kitui in the 2006/2007
school year. Due to the wonderful response, we were
able to add an eighth project- Kiatineni- which we brought
to the head of the queue due to the urgent need of the
community there
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Typically, these water projects
involve the construction or rehabilitation of a water
well, or the construction of a sand dam (also known as a
subsurface dam), and typical costs lie in the range
€1400 to €4000. Each
of these projects will
typically provide clean water for a community of 200-300
people. Water capacity in the sand dams tends to be higher
than for a stand-alone well, because the whole point of the
sand dam is to provide water storage through the dry
season, so a community with a sand dam will have additional
water for crop irrigation and for animals, which of course
is a huge bonus. |
| The well at Kiatineni is a
typical example of a project which could not have been
carried out without outside assistance. It is hard for us
in Ireland to appreciate the difficulties faced by the
people in Kitui in accessing water. The community at
Kiatineni had for many years been faced with long walking
distances to find water in the dry season- 10km would not
be unusual. The water point would typically be a scoop hole
dug out of a dry river bed. Then they might well have to
queue up to collect water because of the low seepage rate
into the scoop hole. So a major portion of the day would be
devoted to the basic task of collecting 20 litres of dirty
water. |
The Kiatineni community approached the
local area co-ordinator for the Diocese of Kitui’s Water
Department, and asked for assistance. To qualify for
assistance, the community must show that they have formed a
working committee with a commitment from each member to
supply labour or materials for the construction. Typically
the community will provide 50% or so of the total cost-
everything except materials such as cement, and some
special hand tools, and the hand pump which is fitted at
the end of the construction period. |
| Several years ago they
started digging a well by hand closer to their village in a
desperate attempt to remedy the problem. The well was in
very soft ground, and it caved in several times.
Fortunately no-one was injured. These wells are often dug
to incredible depths without the benefit of any safety
precautions against collapse. Not only is collapse a hazard
for those working in the well, but of course a cave-in
means that water is no longer accessible until the well can
be dug out again. |
Another benefit which we often don’t
appreciate from the Irish perspective is that providing
easier access to water empowers the women of the community.
Fetching water is traditionally the task of the women and
girls in a household. If the women are spending such a long
proportion of the day in this task, they have little time
or energy left over for the normal household tasks, never
mind engaging in activities with economic value such as
tending crops. With extra time available, the status of
women is enhanced. |
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Dalkey Parish
Outreach
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| Dalkey
Parish Outreach has been supporting the work of Fr Paul Healy in Kitui since
1999, and has raised approximately €30,000 for Kitui to date. These are just a few of the
results achieved with funds raised by the
monthly coffee morning in Our Lady's Hall, Dalkey : |
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Endau Parish-
Provision of a Shallow Well to supply water to the Mission
Compound and to the attached Polytechnic
Supply of sewing machines and a knitting machine for the
Polytechnic
Supply of all materials to set up the Polytechnic including
such items as bicycles
Construction of a second classroom for the Polytechnic
Sponsoring student's fees for students with difficult family
circumstances
Currently, Dalkey Outreach is funding the construction of an
additional water storage tank for the Polytechnic
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St. John Eudes Home and Rehabilitation Centre for Street
Children
Sponsoring of two children through the rehabilitation programme.
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Other
achievements include:
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Musuoni Well
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Construction of a shallow well at Musuoni sponsored by "Wells
for Africa" group, July 2006. This is just one of
a number of water projects which have been funded by this
group- in total, serving approximately 3000 people with
clean water. More project details on the "Wells
for Africa" page |
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Empowering
Women
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| This new project
launched September 2006. It aims to provide a meaningful
source of income for families, and in particular aims to
empower women through self-sufficiency.To
date, Friends of Kitui have supplied and installed over 200
hives in Kitui. Read more |
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School
Building Project
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| Led
by Aidan Corless, this project aims to raise an overall
total of approximately €450,000 to
build and equip a secondary boarding school for the Diocese of Kitui.
To date (September 2007) approximately €240,000 has been raised for the
purchase of a site, and for initial construction work on
foundations etc. |
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Education of
Aids Orphans
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| An initiative by
Aidan Corless, which has raised sufficient funds to provide secondary
education for over 100 AIDS orphans in 2006. Through this
programme 130 children have been given the advantage of
secondary school education for one year- plus food and
accommodation- whereas otherwise they might have been
destitute.
Aidan is
continuing this work and seeking funds for subsequent years, and is also
expanding the programme to include a further 67 children in
2007. Read
more
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Page Under Construction
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