Wishing for a well

     I wake up and take a warm shower. After I dress, it's time for breakfast. So I fill my plate with an array of food, and of course a glass of water. After breakfast, we fill the fridge in our safari vehicle with bottled water to prepare for the days journey. All the while not giving a second thought to where all this water came from. Little do I know, I had always had access to something more valuable than gold.

      Todays afternoon adventure is different than the previous two day's.
We are not going to see animals, but a people that have made a living among the animals for hundreds, even thousands of years. We were visiting the Samburu natives.

      As we pull up to the village it is immediately apparent that we are not anywhere even similar to American Suburbia. When we get out of the vehicles we are met by a man dressed in colorful clothes and beads who introduces himself as the Chief's son, Simon. He warmly welcomes us, and takes us over to watch some of the village residents perform traditional welcome dances.

            After the welcoming dances, we were taken in to see the village. We were immediately humbled as we walked and saw the make shift huts that they lived in. It was amazing to see how they turned a bunch of sticks, and what looked like garbage, into a livable area. It was awesome to see the ingenuity!

         Simon asked us to follow him as he took us to a cement structure just on the outskirts of the village. As we got closer I quickly realized that that was more than just a cement structure, but a source of life for the villagers. This was a well.

         When Jim and Carol Gee first came to Africa about 20 years ago they immediately fell in love. Not only with the land and it's wildlife, but with the people that have called this place home for thousands of years. Upon returning to Africa year after year, their love only grew, but so did their awareness of the hardship these African natives face on a day to day basis.

          One of the greatest challenges, among many others, was finding clean water, not only for themselves, but for their livestock which provide most of their nutrients. Jim and Carol couldn't just sit back and watch, so they started The Maji-Ya-Watoto (Water for the Children) Foundation. Since then, they have been successful in drilling three wells, providing clean water for hundreds of people. 

           Unfortunately Kenya suffered the biggest drought in 100 years in 2017. So severe, that the Kenyan government appealed to the UN for a grant of $165.7 million to aid in what the UN deemed, a national disaster.  These wells literally saved lives.

       It was amazing seeing the gratitude these people had for something that I overlook everyday. Ever since I was given this experience, turning on a tap in my kitchen carries a lot more weight. 
    
        Even with the blessing of these wells, some travel up to 7 miles a day to use them. Thats 14 miles a day, that they need to walk just so they can have water! Wow, in 2017, really?? Thats why Jim and Carol are continuing their mission of providing clean water, with the goal of providing 9 more wells. 

         With the average cost of each well being $30,000, raising $270,000 for the 9 wells seems like a daunting task. Despite this, we know that with the help of our travel buddies and others, we can slowly but surely accomplish this. If you would like to help us in accomplishing this, click below.

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         This experience was life changing, and I will never look at water the same...