Kenya
The inflation of recent months is not only keeping people in the industrialized countries of this world on tenterhooks, it is a global problem. And when daily rising prices are compounded by the worst drought in 40 years, it means a daily struggle against hunger and poverty for many people in East Africa. Countless families in Kenya live from hand to mouth, one meal a day often has to suffice, as prices for basic foodstuffs are in some cases 4 times as high as they were a year ago. Every day, countless children and old people die of malnutrition.
Ukunda-help
For meanwhile 20 years the association Ukunda Hilfe e.V. is active in Kenya. Starting with school sponsorships, the activities were quickly expanded beyond the city of Ukunda, including several larger projects such as the construction of schools, kindergartens and solar-powered wells. Education and capacity development as help for self-help are in the foreground.
However, the economic hardship of the people has shifted the focus more and more towards hunger relief in the last 2 years. Drought makes farming almost impossible and livestock starve to death. The livelihood of many people – especially in remote villages – has completely collapsed. In the already known project locations, Ukunda Hilfe supports families with basic foodstuffs. In the village of Mafundani, for example, all 350 school children receive free breakfast and lunch. In addition, the school’s water tanks are filled with fresh water twice a week. Currently the costs for this are 1.400 EUR per month. With the rising costs, our small organization will soon no longer be able to finance these aid measures. Also the support of needy families in other project villages, including a leprosy village in Msambweni, will have to be stopped soon.
Please support us with a donation to be able to alleviate the hardship of these people a little.
Donation account for association Ukunda Hilfe e.V.
Savings Bank Viechtach
IBAN DE08 7415 1450 0022 0542 33
BIC: BYLADEM1REG
Improvement of water supply in Kitui County, Kenya
A project of Fundifix with support of the Hardcore Help Foundation
Since 2019, we have been working with cooperation partner Fundifix in Kenya to improve the water supply in Kitui County.
In Kitui County in southeastern Kenya, about 1.14 million people live on an area of 24,385.1 km². Three quarters of the population live from small-scale agriculture and livestock. The main livestock are cattle, sheep and goats, and maize, beans, sorghum, broad beans, millet and cassava are the main crops for subsistence. Outside the capital Kitui, there is almost no access to electricity, and energy needs are met by wood and coal. Almost 90% of households in the region do not have direct access to clean water. Over 40% of water sources are either out of service or not functioning properly. The communities face enormous challenges. With only one delivery point and limited vendor hours, access to water is extremely limited with long wait times. The public power supply is so unreliable that running the generator has replaced the actual supply. has replaced the actual supply. This is not only associated with high costs for diesel and maintenance of the generator, but also with severe environmental pollution. There is also a risk of community members contracting communicable diseases as people and livestock share the water source. Quarterly water testing by local partner FundiFix found regular contamination of the water with E. coli, most likely due to dirty jerry cans and contamination from livestock feces.
The aim of these projects is therefore to contribute to the sustainable supply of drinking and process water for the people of Kitui County, Kenya.
To this end, FundiFix is building water kiosks with standpipes for domestic use. The household and livestock taps will be separate to prevent further contamination. Water kiosks will also have an automatic solution (ATM). This will ensure that users can collect water around the clock, which should simultaneously reduce waiting times and increase availability. It is also expected to reduce operating costs and thus improve economic viability. To ensure sustainability, FundiFix will continue to provide a professional repair and maintenance service, with the cost of the first five months supporting the project to ensure a reliable and uninterrupted water supply to users. During this period, the community builds equity to support these costs themselves after the project ends. Another goal of the project is to convert the water collection system to a solar-powered system.
This includes the purchase, delivery to the site, and installation of solar panels on a large steel structure that will largely replace the generator and electrical grid, as well as the installation of a hybrid solar controller and inverter. The existing pump will run on both DC (solar or generator) and AC (grid) power, providing backup or nighttime power for extended cloudy days or extreme water demand.
Project costs so far have been between €7000-€11.000.
In the attachment you will find a short introduction of the project.
Contact person for the project:
Enrico Huntjens
Mail: rico@hardcore-help.org
Mobile: 01727397811