Kristen's 2013 Visit

Having the chance to visit Sere Olipi Primary School and the well we drilled there was wonderful. There are 460 primary school students at the school, 225 of whom are boarders and an additional 700 preschoolers. The campus is lovely with children everywhere. Thanks to SENET, a local organization, the school has had many improvements in recent years. The biggest improvement of all, however, is the well The Samburu Project drilled in 2011.

Prior to The Samburu Project drilling a well at Sere Olipi Primary School students, faculty and administrators walked 5 kms to a nearby dam. The dam was heavily contaminated and salty. In 2009, there was a cholera outbreak due to the dam water. Additionally diarrhea was pervasive with the school children when they were taking water from the dam.

The student population has grown by about 100 since the well was drilled. The students daily lives have improved significantly because they do not have to collect water daily from the dam. They simply walk to the nearby well for water. All students at the school participate in the collection of water. They rotate by class between collecting water and collecting firewood. The school has an agreement with the neighboring community. Between 3:10 pm when school is over for the day and 6 pm, people outside the school do not fetch water from the well so that the students can have easy access to the well.

When interviewing Obed Mwende who was in charge in the absence of the Head Teacher, he told Lucas and me that the well is pumping from 5 am - 10 pm every day!

At the well, I met Winnie who has been a teacher at the school for 5 years. She said the biggest issue at the school when she started was water. As a teacher, she too had to walk 5 kms to and from the dam and partake in the dirty water. Now that they have "mineral" water, Winnie's work has become much easier. She now has time to actually do her wash and her student love to assist her. They get to bond over this activity and she works hard to support the girls which encourages them to stay in school.

The well water is used for cooking, drinking and personal hygiene. The personal hygiene factor keeps girls in school.

The school next goal is to identify funding to pump the water up to the school. They have appealed to SENET and the local Catholic Mission. Currently the well is about 1 km from the school. They children now fill jerrycans, walk up the hill to the school with the water on their backs and dump the water into a tank within the school's gates.

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Kristen's 2013 Visit

Having the chance to visit Sere Olipi Primary School and the well we drilled there was wonderful. There are 460 primary school students at the school, 225 of whom are boarders and an additional 700 preschoolers. The campus is lovely with children everywhere. Thanks to SENET, a local organization, the school has had many improvements in recent years. The biggest improvement of all, however, is the well The Samburu Project drilled in 2011.

Prior to The Samburu Project drilling a well at Sere Olipi Primary School students, faculty and administrators walked 5 kms to a nearby dam. The dam was heavily contaminated and salty. In 2009, there was a cholera outbreak due to the dam water. Additionally diarrhea was pervasive with the school children when they were taking water from the dam.

The student population has grown by about 100 since the well was drilled. The students daily lives have improved significantly because they do not have to collect water daily from the dam. They simply walk to the nearby well for water. All students at the school participate in the collection of water. They rotate by class between collecting water and collecting firewood. The school has an agreement with the neighboring community. Between 3:10 pm when school is over for the day and 6 pm, people outside the school do not fetch water from the well so that the students can have easy access to the well.

When interviewing Obed Mwende who was in charge in the absence of the Head Teacher, he told Lucas and me that the well is pumping from 5 am - 10 pm every day!

At the well, I met Winnie who has been a teacher at the school for 5 years. She said the biggest issue at the school when she started was water. As a teacher, she too had to walk 5 kms to and from the dam and partake in the dirty water. Now that they have "mineral" water, Winnie's work has become much easier. She now has time to actually do her wash and her student love to assist her. They get to bond over this activity and she works hard to support the girls which encourages them to stay in school.

The well water is used for cooking, drinking and personal hygiene. The personal hygiene factor keeps girls in school.

The school next goal is to identify funding to pump the water up to the school. They have appealed to SENET and the local Catholic Mission. Currently the well is about 1 km from the school. They children now fill jerrycans, walk up the hill to the school with the water on their backs and dump the water into a tank within the school's gates.

Stephanie Ng's Visit- May 2012

We arrived at the well to find an older girl and younger school boy at the well. They had brought three big jerry cans with them and in no time they filled two of them while we were with them. Realizing that these children would not be able to answer most of our questions, we headed back to town in search of the Head Master of the primary school, Fred Papaa Lemeleny. On our way to the school, we actually ran into him! He had heard we were in town and had gone out looking for us. Even before I could ask any questions, he immediately conveyed his thanks and appreciation for the good work that we had done. Because of this well and the easy access to clean, safe drinking water, children are now performing much better in school and many more are passing each year.

He informed me that before this well, adults and children used to walk five kilometers or three hours each way to find water. The water that they brought home originated from shallow hand dug holes which meant that the water was dirty and contaminated. Children and teachers would get very ill from water-borne disease which prevented them from really excelling in their studies or jobs.

The well is one kilometer from the school which is about a 20 to 30 minute walk. Now that they have a safe water source that is clean and nearby, teachers now have time to thoroughly cover the syllabus. They no longer have to worry about getting water before and after school and instead can use this time to look over their lessons and be prepared for next day’s class. This has led to far better and effective performances on the part of the teachers. Likewise, students use this saved time to focus on their studies.

Not only are students doing better in their studies but more children are now able to go to school. Whereas before there was only 350 students enrolled at the primary school, since the well was placed in this community, there are 480 students!!! Almost 40% of the students are girls. I hope with each well visit this number only continues to rise as more families will be able to send their children to school.

In addition to the students, the community at large (more than 1,000) takes water from this well despite having a community borehole. Fred told me that the reason for this is because the water from the borehole is very salty whereas the water from the well is very fresh and pure.

Each well visit opens my eyes to just how water truly is a catalyst for so many opportunities. With water, people become educated. And education is the key to their future. Furthermore, despite all the challenges we face on the ground, seeing Sere Olipi Primary School Well and how it has changed the future of so many school children despite the rocky beginning (referring to the initial dry well), renews my hope and faith that nothing can prevent us from continuing our work and impacting lives for the better

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