Hauling water in Kenya. (Photo by Michael May)
Mna Kameli whistles as he walks the perimeter of the Kasingu Earthen Dam, a small reservoir in rural Kenya surrounded by thorny trees and scrubby yellow grass. He keeps animals out of the fenced enclosure and makes sure that none of the 70 families that rely on this water take more than their fair share — currently 53 gallons a week. The government didn’t provide this dam. Instead, the nearby village worked together to pool the land and then they began to dig, by hand, with shovels. Eventually, they had it excavated.
This is just part of a huge effort by the Makutano Community Development Foundation to bring water to thousands of families in this drought-stricken area of Kenya.
The story aired on PRI’s America Abroad. Listen to it here.
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