2nd Implementation Trip (Part II)

I was a member of the first implementation team, so I was pretty excited ahead of my second trip. I was excited to see the impact that the work we had done last year had made.  I was excited to see our friends from Water is Life, Kenya: Joyce, Joseph and Sadera. We had a pleasant journey to Kenya, taking a direct flight, and made our way to Loitokitok with the rest of the team.

When we arrived at the school, the first thing I had to do was to go look at the tanks we had installed last year. It had rained the day before our arrival, and the tanks were almost all full! We found some leaks, some first flush systems not being used, but it was good feeling to see water being collected.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the team that had gone ahead of us had been unable to complete Phase II, but their work gave us a head start in our week-long project. We worked for 5 days, getting more efficient as we went.

The big difference between this implementation and the first one was that due to the height of the roof, we had to use scaffolding for the gutter attachment. Most of our mornings started with the assembly of the scaffolding before we broke off and accomplished various tasks. Each day, at lunch time, we were able to witness the school children using the water from the first system to wash their plates, and  for drinking.

Most significantly, I noticed that the kids were not carrying containers of water to school, like they did before. The school kitchen had a water supply, and taking that burden off the kids was very gratifying.
By the end of day 5 of work, we had not only completed Phase II but we had repaired some leaks in Phase I, treated the water in all the tanks and were talked with the kids and staff about proper maintenance of the systems  and conservation of water.  We were also able to get some feedback from the kids on the impact these water harvesting systems were having on their daily lives, and it only reaffirmed my desire to do this work and continue to return.

The school gave us an emotional send-off once more, and we were on our way, feeling good about what we had accomplished and excited to take a couple of days to relax and do some sightseeing.

For a change, we went to Tsavo East National( Park for our safari this time, instead of Amboseli. We enjoyed our overnight stay in the park, (which we learned was twice the size of Delaware! ) and got to see some amazing wildlife. We also got to spend a day sightseeing in Nairobi, going to the Giraffe Center, and the Karen Blixen Museum.

This trip was as memorable as the first one, with a lot of work, and a lot of accomplishment. Working outdoors, in the beautiful countryside with the amazing Mt Kilimanjaro in the background never gets old, and I was rewarded for our work last year by getting to see the difference we’ve made at the school.