Stephanie Ng's Visit- May 2012
On our way to Nairisha Well we ran into Lejuu Lematasho who is a volunteer for The Samburu Project in Sere Olipi and visits the three wells in the area regularly and reports any issue to Lucas or Paul.
The water from this well is too salty for human consumption. However the water does not go unused; rather, saline water is great for the animals and consequently the communities bring all their livestock to drink from this well. Lejuu says that more than 700 cows and more than 5,000 goats drink from this water every day. In this sense, this well has changed the lives of everyone in the community because now they do not have to walk their animals to far places to find water and as a result, there are fewer deaths among their livestock. For this pastoralist community, their survival and livelihood is tied hand in hand with the wellbeing of their livestock. Not only do they use the cows and goats as their primary source of food (milk and meat) but oftentimes this is their only source of income. Lejuu also said that if people want to flush their system of toxins or after eating something bad, they will drink this salty water which clears everything out quickly.
The community has constructed a very thorough and impressive bush fencing around the well. Other than the fact that the water is salty, the well is functioning without any problems.
Lejuu is hoping that another well can be drilled nearby so that the 700 or so people in this community will have a safe, clean drinking source that is close to their village.
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