Build A Water Tank for Early Childhood Centre

15 Jun

Thank you and project update

By ChildFund New Zealand Charity

Many thanks for the donations for the Early Childhood Development Water Tank. We have now received the funds and will put them to good use!

The water tanks are part of the Water Action Plan for the Emali area in Kenya which itself is part of a project which focuses on orphans and vulnerable children and includes training as well as providing infrastructure resources. The first three months of the project have involved start-up activities. The set up phase is critical to ensure the project runs as smoothly as possible and perhaps most importantly to ensure the community takes ownership of the project, which is vital to the long term sustainable success. This has included meetings with community members/ECD centres, recruitment and deployment of staff, and mapping specific project locations for water points/tanks.

Our biggest challenge began in January when the Government of Kenya declared a National Disaster appealing for food and non food emergency assistance. Within the Emali area, failure of the short rains has reduced the crop yield significantly and left livestock without adequate pasture and water. This has led to high livestock death, affecting the availability of milk for which the Maasai community is dependent on. The result is plummeting livestock prices, significantly reducing the purchasing power of the mainly pastoralist communities as the price of basic foods has increased. Many residents cannot now afford to purchase adequate food. Dams and springs in the project area have dried up with some community members now walking up to 20km to collect water. Child malnutrition rates are on the increase. Child labour and school absenteeism has also increased as children search for food and water. Predominantly male community members have migrated with their livestock to Tanzania. Many women have been left behind to fend for themselves and their children, thus increasing their vulnerability.

ChildFund New Zealand will be supporting an Emergency Response Project to respond to the immediate food shortage in the area. This emergency project will run alongside the Emali Project and provide immediate food and resources to strengthen coping mechanisms so that the most vulnerable in the community, namely children and pregnant/breast feeding mothers, can survive the current crisis and continue to build their community.