The Kenyan High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Stephen Tarus, was the special guest at last week’s launch of the Tweed Kenyan Mentoring Program’s Safewater Four project at the Council Chambers in Murwillumbah.
Safewater Four is an operation to rehabilitate the Gona Dam at Obambo Kadenge, a very poor area of rural Kenya, some six to eight hours west of Nairobi.
The aim of the project is to provide an accessible and hygienic drinking water supply for a poor rural community in western Kenya which currently extracts untreated drinking water from a contaminated dam.
The project will increase the size of the dam and boost water security for rural residents.
This will be achieved by installing a Skyjuice SkyStation, an ingenious water treatment unit that utilises membrane microfiltration to purify dam water without the need for chemicals or power.
The unit used is produced by the Skyjuice Foundation, who is a major project partner in the Tweed Kenya Mentoring Program.
Council’s Senior Construction Engineer Nigel Dobson will head to Kenya as a volunteer in early 2012 to commence the project.
He is following in the footsteps of three of his Council colleagues, who have also delivered water projects in Kenya as volunteers – Tom Alletson, Marty Hancock and Sebastien Garcia-Cuenca.
“Safewater Four is at the same site as Safewater One, the Gona Dam. When the dam is dry, it is a three-kilometre walk to the next water source,” Mr Dobson said.
“Our aim for Safewater Four is to work with the community to restore and increase the capacity of the dam so it is a permanent source of water all year round.”
Mr Dobson has previously volunteered his expertise through working on the construction of schools and clinics in Vanuatu and the Solomons.
The safewater project site was originally identified by Olita Ongonjo, coordinator of the Tweed Kenya Mentoring Project, who was also a special guest at the launch.
Mr Ongonjo recently completed his Masters in Integrated Water Management in Australia as the Inaugural International Riverfoundation Scholarship recipient.
He is planning to head back to his homeland shortly to put his knowledge to work to benefit his people.
“The issue of water security in Kenya is becoming even more crucial as rains are becoming less reliable, as seen with the drought severely affecting so many African nations at present,” Mr Ongonjo said.
The Tweed Kenya Mentoring Program is able to deliver clean drinking water to another remote Kenyan community in 2011, thanks to the generous support of the program’s sponsors.
The program’s key players are Council staff, the International Riverfoundation, Skyjuice, Council, Mary and Alec Peden (the program’s major Safewater sponsor), local service clubs and community members.
Tweed Kenya Mentoring Program Committee spokesperson Tom Alletson thanked the sponsors of the Tweed Kenya Mentoring Program, which include Tweed Shire Council staff who will raise $18,000 this financial year, matched dollar-for-dollar by Tweed Shire Council.
“I know it will be a major challenge but there are also major rewards in knowing the Tweed Kenya Mentoring Program will be making a real difference to people’s lives,” he said.
The first Safe Water project was delivered in March 2007 in the village of Obambo Kadenge, while the second was in the village of Tinga in November 2008.
“The experience gained through implementation of Safewater One, Two and Three projects have made us confident that the project delivery model and technological approach adopted is sound and achievable,” Mr Alletson said.
The Tweed Kenya Mentoring Program is an initiative of Tweed Shire Council and the International Riverfoundation. For more information, go to Council’s website www.tweed.nsw.gov.au
