When I woke up on New Year’s Day, my very first thought was that I would make it this year’s resolution to blog here more- that, and to exercise regularly.  I have failed at both.  However, we will be posting more frequent entries here this year, because we have an incredible team who is constantly sending me fodder to expound upon.  And, so, I present to you, our first blog (of many more to come) of 2011.

I never realized, back in June of 2006, when I signed up for this cause, what an incredible education I would accumulate.  It may be a similar pattern and curve for any nonprofit management:  1) a deep submersion into the desperate need and passion to help, 2)  a rude awakening to the obstacles and difficulty in helping and the revelation that passion needs to be met with business savvy and constant organizational vigilance, and finally, 3)  an acceptance that any act that we execute or support is forever our responsibility and that it’s all a hell of a lot of work.

But the work is welcomed, and it’s the ultimate labor of love.  And we, as an organization, have also been very lucky to have had very meaningful support from infancy until now.

The responsibility to our supporters and the people we are able to help includes (perhaps more so when working in a different country) focusing on our educations- research, followup, more research, and more followup.  And, while our intentions have always been very good, and our efforts exhaustive, we have, admittedly, made mistakes along the way that we now get to proactively apply to our work.  It’s only through our pursuit of new knowledge and application of lessons learned that we can be the most efficient and effective organization we can be.

I could write a book now (and just might attempt that one day) on everything we have learned and how.  But for now, I want to let you in on arguably the most important new adjustment we have made to overcome the obstacle that is rampant water project abandonment in Kenya.

You may know that in the amount of time that it takes you to brush your teeth, two children will die from water-born disease.  This statistic only accounts for illness caused by unsanitary water, and not that which results from malnutrition, warfare and other devastation that are products of water deprivation.

What you probably don’t know is that a large portion of this diseased water is coming from a water well.  60% of boreholes in Kenya don’t work at all, and a majority of the ones that do work are not maintained properly.  Lack of sanitation training, community abandonment, and little or no water testing and treatment are resulting in drastically increasing cases of death from typhoid, dysentery and cholera.  And, as usual, most of the victims are infants and young children.

All of us working on water in Africa have great intentions.  But we are learning that good will and project completion are just not enough- and potentially very dangerous without every other measure that must come next.  Well Aware has developed this new model to insure substantial change and true sustainability in the communities in which we work.

I am honored to introduce some of our new nonprofit partners who have committed to assisting Well Aware in seeing that these measures are fully implemented and sustained.

Geoffrey Ndungu of Watoto Wa Baraka (Kenya NGO)

Geoffrey is overseeing our borehole in Ithica Hills and will advise on sustainability, sanitation and care for children with HIV.  He created a completely self-sustainable orphanage- right down to methane gas to cook with from bovine “byproduct”- in a rural area north or Nairobi, and has years of experience in sanitation and HIV training.

He also has experience and proficiency in post-education job placement for orphaned children in Kenya.

Elijah Mwangi of Partnership for Africa (U.S. 501(c)3 and NGO Kenya)

Elijah manages an Austin-based nonprofit which organizes and conducts lectures in Kenya on tribal peace.  One of the most prevalent and tragic reason that children are orphaned in Kenya is inter-tribal warfare.  Elijah and his team have attracted tribal and governmental leaders from all over Kenya, as well as university professors from the U.S. for his Peace Talks.  He will be providing community tools for establishing and maintaining inter-tribal harmony in the communities in which we work.  Well Aware learned about the importance of this element through Partnership for Africa, and we are quite lucky to have their help.

Elijah also has years of experience in orphan placement and care, and Well Aware is hoping to assist his nonprofit goal to establish his own orphanage in a devastatingly dry area of rural Kenya.

Joshua (Mike) Matuku

Mike has been our devoted transportation specialist since we have been drilling in Kenya, and has graciously agreed to be Well Aware’s project auditor.  We are conducting quarterly audits of every project that we have executed or contributed to for as long as we exist as an organization (and we plan for that to be a very, very long time).  Our audits include actual site visits once every three months to ensure that every component of the well and community structure set up for the well is in proper and working order.

Mike is not only the safest and most masterful driver we have ever known, but he is also educated on general borehole function and speaks a bit of almost all languages in Kenya.  He has become a photographer, translator, negotiator, chaperon, treasurer, travel agent, body guard and friend.  We are proud and privileged to have him on our team and looking out for our communities.

Jeremiah Kuria of Comfort the Children (U.S. 501(c)3 and Kenya NGO)

Jeremiah is currently the project manager at Comfort the Children International, based in Austin Texas and located in Kenya.  He has been integral in the first stages of our work Maai Mahiu (the location of our next borehole) and will continue to be of assistance in water well oversight and management.

He will also be coordinating the implementation of a school for special needs children, skills training and employment of local women and a relationship with the U.N. for physical therapy for children with physical disabilities.

In rural Kenya, most children with physical or mental handicap are abandoned or severely neglected.  Jeremiah is working to change that where we work.

Richard McGonnell with the Rotary Club of Navaisha and The Naivasha Safe House (NGOs Kenya)

Richard has been the president of the Rotary Club of Naivasha and is founder of the Safe House there.  He has also worked on many borehole projects over the years with other Rotary clubs and NGO’s.  He has agreed to assist us in setting up community structure for lifetime care of the water wells, as well as mobilizing the Kenyan companies we employ to construct the well.

You can find more information, as well as websites for these orgs and our other partners, on our website’s Partner Page.

Well Aware is also currently working with Rotary International’s efforts to establish water sources in Kanya that do not break down, taint the supply or become neglected.

In summary:  We will always monitor, always question, and always learn.  Thank you for trusting us to do this work.

If you would for us to write or report on any issue relating to our cause, or about our organization, please let us know!  If at all possible, we will be obliged to comply.  We would really like to initiate a more interactive discourse on these issues.

Thank you, as always, for tuning in.  Simply reading this blog entry is a step toward a better Kenya.  Passing it on would be two.

Ubuntu,

Well Aware

www.wellawareworld.org

Resources for this article:

The Water Project: www.thewaterproject.org

News From Africa:  www.newsfromafrica.org

Tree Hugger:  www.treehugger.com