Plenty of Water and Time for Richard's Crops!

Your gift last year unlocked Richard Matuthu's potential for a brighter future. Since then, he and the Tulanduli Community of 370 residents have had reliable water. Your contribution has made a significant impact. Thank you for making a difference!

"I like fetching water here because it is very close to my home. I can fetch water any time of the day and make several trips."

Before the Well Installation

Like many in Southeast Kenya, farmer Richard Matuthu, 68, needs water to meet his daily needs. Before last year’s water intervention, finding and collecting sufficient water stole his time and negatively affected him.

Previous water source - scoop hole.

Drinking the water had severe consequences. Many in his community suffered from waterborne diseases that created health problems and affected their daily lives. The difficult journey to collect water sapped their physical and emotional energy, creating roadblocks. For Richard, in particular, it lessened his opportunity to make progress in providing for his family.

"Getting water in the past was very frustrating because we had to walk several kilometers to draw water, and we would return home feeling exhausted and unable to conduct other activities at home. Due to the long distance, we could only make one trip per day; thus, we only had little water for cooking and drinking, which adversely affected levels of hygiene in our community," Richard said.

Since the Well Installation

Your generous gift last year was much more than a simple donation; it was a powerful statement about your commitment to this community and Richard’s future. By supporting the water solution, you made clean water an everyday reality, fostering hope for a brighter future.

The well.

Reliable and clean water lays the groundwork for improved health, education, and economic possibilities, allowing people to thrive. We frequently hear from those we interview that "water is life!"

"Fetching water now takes only a few minutes and is much faster than before this project was completed because it would take about six hours to draw water and go back home in the past," said Richard.

The Future is Looking Bright!

You made a difference for Richard and the rest of his community a year ago. This is just the first chapter of their story as access to clean water continues to improve their lives!

At The Water Project, we value sustainability and want to ensure that people continue to thrive. We commit to monitoring this project to ensure the water is always flowing and safe to consume. We inspect the system hardware, track water availability, conduct sanitary inspections, and collect water quality samples to identify risks. We work with our team on the ground to resolve them.

You gave Richard a crucial tool for achieving his dreams: access to reliable water. Together, we can excitedly expect that with this precious resource, his enthusiasm and courage will help fulfill dreams.

"We have been able to nurture a tree nursery and distribute the seedlings among the members before the onset of the rainy season. We use the water from this shallow well to irrigate the seedlings during the drought season. The water from this shallow well has also helped us to irrigate our kitchen gardens at home [and] provide food for us. I hope that I will be able to grow more vegetables [on] my land because we have enough water now. I will purchase a generator that will be pumping water to my farm, once I accumulate enough money from the vegetable sales," concluded Richard.

Tree seedlings.