Let's Bring Clean Water & New Life to the People of Lositeti!

Background

I want to share a story with you about the Maasai community of Lositeti, Kenya. Maybe you remember hearing about this town in the news when First Lady Jill Biden visited there in February.

She saw first-hand the devastation caused by the relentless drought of the past two and a half years: shallow wells dried up, the dam standing empty, clean water almost nonexistent, and livestock herds wiped out by lack of pasture.

But there was some positive news, too. The publicity surrounding the First Lady’s visit also brought visibility to Water is Life Kenya and the work we are doing to help communities have clean water, thanks to your help.

This spurred Michael Lankoi, a teacher from Lositeti, to travel 40 miles to track us down at Nooriro where we were drilling a new borehole. Maybe Water is Life Kenya could help him and his thirsty, desperate neighbors have clean water in Lositeti!

Michael said when he met us,

“You have really been doing a good job, bringing our people water, which is something no one can ever repay. So, I came far to find you.”

WILK's Co-Founder, Joyce, with Michael and the Lositeti community.

Our Fundraising Goal

Thanks to you, our generous donors, we have been able to answer cries for help in the past.

Will you help us again? Can we make this hope a reality for these people? Can the blessing Michael saw in Nooriro—clean water coming out of the ground where no one ever expected to see it—become a reality for the women, men, and children of Lositeti? I believe YOU will hear their cry.

That is why we are launching a campaign to raise $80,000 to install a borehole in Lositeti. And I’m happy to report that we have already received a grant for half the cost! With your help, we hope to secure the other $40,000 so that this work can proceed.

Our clean water, sanitation, and hygiene projects are helping so many people. Tens of thousands of people have reliable, clean water from WILK projects that helped them get through an extremely tough drought.

That is why I know that, TOGETHER, we can do this again.

What's Possible

When I think of an example of a highly successful project which has had an impact beyond what we imagined, I immediately think of Olepolos Community Borehole. It has been in operation since 2013 and is still going strong. They have a water management committee of young men elected in 2022. Not often will something of this importance be entrusted to young men in the Maasai community, but the Olepolos residents saw their great leadership potential.

Thanks to the annual training WILK holds for its water management committees and regular project monitoring, these men have become leaders worth imitating. They can be proud of the uninterrupted water supply at their borehole, which means women can get water reliably every day, children at the nearby schools can have sufficient drinking water, and area livestock can quench their thirst in the hot sun.

In addition, their borehole project has led the way in spurring new development at the borehole site. Where there used to be a wilderness, the borehole site is now a hub of activity. In addition to people getting their daily water supply, there are now a dozen small shops and kiosks where people can shop, catch up, and share news.

In short, water is improving every part of their lives!

Will you answer the call?

The people of Lositeti have a dream for a better future as well! They long for what Olepolos already has…reliable, clean water, huge time savings, and better, healthier lives!

Your tax-deductible gift of $100 will pay wages for community laborers during construction; $500 will buy 70 bags of cement for the water tank; or $1,000 will help fund 50 ft. of drilling. If these amounts don’t sound right, please don’t be put off by my request. Any amount you give will help us reach our goal.

Let’s help them make their dreams a reality. I am asking you to consider making your most generous donation to bring clean water to Lositeti.

Here’s to the day when thirst will be a thing of the past in Lositeti! Here’s to YOUR generosity!

With gratitude and many blessing on you and your loved ones,

Joyce Tannian
Co-Founder and Executive Director

P.S. I mentioned Olepolos above. This video, taken last year, is from Olepolos. This can be possible in Lositeti, too!

An Update from Lositeti:

The hydrogeological survey being conducted at Lositeti.