Empowering Women & Sharing Ideas...the May, 2022 Friendly Water Newsletter

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Subject: Empowering Women & Sharing Ideas...the May, 2022 Friendly Water Newsletter

May 2022 Issue

Greetings Friend,

Every day at Friendly Water for the World, we go to work with two goals in mind: 1) create a positive impact wherever we're invited, and 2) work with others on the same path to make our combined efforts as effective and impactful as possible.

In our first piece about an indirect impact, our Programs Manager, Eric Lijodi tells a story about challenging norms, seizing an opportunity, and rising to the moment.

The second piece, written by our Assistant Programs Manager Ezra Kigondu, highlights some features in an ongoing training with other non-profits. Our impacts are greater combined than alone.

Indirect impacts and partnerships may not have the same oomph as providing schools teaching hundreds of children with water security (which we also do). But indirect impacts and partnerships are the glue that bind these efforts together and allows us to do more work, for more people, with more successful and durable impacts.

Thank you for reading!

Peace & Joy

Marrum for 10,000 Bricks

A field of non-fired, ecologically friendly ISSB Bricks ready to be made into Rainwater Catchment Tanks

In Brief- What happened in April

>> You want bricks? We got bricks. We have produced 20,000 ISSB Bricks in Matsakha and Kambiri over the past month, combined with an additional 9,000 on hand, we are prepared to start construction on 30 more Rainwater Catchment Tanks (RCT). That's 750,000 liters of Water Security coming the way of schools and clinics in Western Kenya.

>> Because we know the people at Makiga Engineering very well, Friendly Water for the World is helping a partner non-profit acquire some ISSB presses. It is a privilege to be able to assist our fellow sisters and brothers with whom we toil in the same fields. If anyone needs information on ISSB presses please contact Programs Manager Eric Lijodi at eric@friendlywater.org .

>> The Matsakha Development Group produced 440 liters of Liquid Soap and sold 351 liters, producing 30,910 Kenyan Shillings ($266) in revenue. This is down from last month as soaring gas prices (see below) have taken a lot of cash out of the economy.

>> The Kambiri Community Development Group had 317 liters of Liquid Soap on hand and sold 165 liters for sales of 19,610Ksh ($168). This is also lower than the previous month for the same reasons.

>> Gas shortages (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-14/fuel-prices-rise-in-kenya-as-it-battles-worst-shortage-in-decade) slowed everything down in Kenya in April and made what did happen more expensive. Our Rainwater Catchment Tank signage branding (our name, address and phone number) ground to a halt, as the sign-maker had no gas to travel. We continued to make and sell soap as we maintain a few hundred liters of raw material inventory. Similarly, our ISSB brick making is dependent upon locally sourced materials (literally the dirt under your feet) so our efforts have been largely unimpeded.

>> Have a question or suggestion? Send an email to curt@friendlywater.org.

Please share our work and invite others to join our mission.

Nothing Like “Heavy Lift” for Men Only

Eric Lung'aho Lijodi

Three members of the Kambiri Community Development Group making ISSB bricks

Production of Interlocking Soil Stabilized Bricks (ISSB) is a job that most people consider to be a tedious task that requires hard labor, stamina and a passion to undertake the work. Most groups that we have worked with on this program have always assumed that to operate the interlocking brick presses, you only need “Well built” men with “six pack” muscles to do the bricks production work.

Kambiri Community Development Group has proved this to be wrong by engaging women in the actual operation of the presses while doing production of the bricks. Two women, Mena Mugoma and Monicah Masitsa, are among the production team of KCDG and are giving the men in this department high competition by the swift and experienced way they are handling the presses. One man was heard saying “If we do not work hard, these women are going to take over this work completely!”

Ms. Mena Mugoma mixing marrum and cement

Mena has specialized in the mixing of the Murram and cement and delivering it to the press, whereas Monica on the other side is now a seasoned expert in doing the heavy lifting of the presses. The two women have become instant celebrities within KCDG and a role model to the girl child in Kambiri Community. We can see a future ahead of us that will be having presses operated by women alone, since we have more women from Kambiri who have already started started emulating this women.

Ms. Masitsa prepares to lift the press

Asked why they opted for this work, they had this to say;

Monicah Masitsa “The untimely death of my late husband through a road accident has taught me to be resilient in life. He was the sole bread winner while I played the role of a perfect house-wife. Upon his death, things changed and I discovered that I had to be both a mother and father figure for my children. I was forced to make drastic changes in the way I looked at life. The work I am doing at KCDG is enabling me to get the basic needs for my young family. I am assured of some income for my family.

Mena Mugoma was blunt and brief…."I am a wife to a Pastor and there is always a misconception in peoples’ minds that wives to Pastors do not work. I do not have to rely on the mission work that my husband is doing for survival. I have made a decision not to 'wait for handouts' from people to fend for my family."

Soon these women will be involved in the construction of the Rainwater Catchment Tanks and they will have another story to tell at that time.

My appreciation for your attention,

Eric Lung'aho Lijodi

Programs Manager

Same mission, different methods:

Sharing knowledges makes us all stronger

by Ezra Kigondu

The Aqua Clara Kenya Training Campus in Kisii, Kenya

The Aqua Clara Training Center commonly known as the “WASH CAMPUS" was a host to an International Water training with the theme: “Low-cost water technologies for self-supply and households"

Friendly Water for the world was represented by the Assistant Programs Manager Mr. Ezra Kigondu and our Lead Mason Mr. William Amunga.

The founder of EMAS technology Mr. Wolfgang Eloy Buchner showcasing hand drills for household wells.

It’s a three week training course covering the topics on –

1. WELLS

Improving hand dug wells
hand drilling
site selection

2. PUMPS

EMAS pumps (escuelas móvil de agua y saneamiento)
solar pumps
rope pumps

3. TREATMENT

chemicals
filters

4. SANITATION

Safe Toilets (SATO PAN)

5. HYDROGEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES

Asst. Programs Mgr. Ezra Kigondu discussing methods with EMAS pump creator Wolfgang Eloy Buchner

The training brought people from seven countries together- Kenya, Cameron, Spain, Netherlands, German, Ethiopia and America- representing various organization in their respective countries.

Lead Mason William Amunga (R) learning how to backwash a drilled well.

Capacity building and education are the most important tools to change and improve living standards of communities - and that’s what Friendly Water endeavors to undertake. It is important connecting with different groups, doing different things and this enhances learning from each other.

Although we may not use these technologies at Friendly Water for the World we consider it important to have a thorough understanding of these methods so we can well inform our partner communities of their options.

Thank you for reading!

Ezra Kigondu,

Assistant Programs Manager

With YOUR support, anything is possible!

FRIENDLY WATER FOR THE WORLD

We are on a mission to transform the villages of the world.

https://friendlywater.org

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Subject: Empowering Women & Sharing Ideas...the May, 2022 Friendly Water Newsletter