WAYNESBORO – Waynesboro Rotarians are once again teaming up with Clean Water Kenya on a May 31 Walk 4 Water to raise money to provide rainwater storage barrels and water filters for Maasai villages in Kenya.
The Pennsylvania non-profit, Clean Water Kenya has raised $101,006 since January 2016 to fund 2,576 filters and 680 rainwater storage barrels now in service in Kenya, said Clean Water founder Ken Clark. This means over 150,000 rural Kenyans have access to clean water every day. This has saved and changed many lives.
“Our filters are in more than 219 small villages, countless individual homes, one medical clinic, one small hospital and seven schools,” said Clark, who is based in Ligonier.
Jeff Rock, Waynesboro Rotary vice president, noted every $30 walk registration fee will fund enough clean water for a family of six for five years!
The local event covers a three-mile course in which you will walk 1.5 miles and then retrieve a one-gallon water container, which you will carry to the finish point. The organizers use a one-gallon water container to simulate what it is like for a child or adult to retrieve water from a distance from their village. Think about this: It could take four to six hours for someone to retrieve a jerry can of water (about five gallons), and the journey is normally five to eight miles or more, Rock noted.
The Waynesboro event begins at 8 a.m. at Buchanan Automotive Stadium or “Virtual.” Walkers must be registered by May 30. In addition to the $30 individual registrations, the Rotarians hope to generate multiple “walk sponsors” at levels from $100 to $500. Rock, who also serves as walk director can be reached at 717-387-1746 or emailed [email protected].
Access to clean water is something we take for granted; in fact, we don’t even give it a second thought. But did you know that 26 percent of the world’s population lacks access to clean water and 46 percent lack access to basic sanitation? walk organizers asked.
“Experience what two billion or more people globally do just to obtain water – walk a mile in their shoes (feet)!” Rock added.
Clark also said 442 filters were delivered as disaster relief to Puerto Rico directly after Hurricane Maria in September 2017. Thousands of people were helped in the hardest hits seven towns on the east and north coasts.
The Pennsylvania charity Clark founded covers a 12,000-square-mile area in Kenya’s Rift Valley. The filters are what’s known as CPF or Clay Pot Filters, Clark. They look like flower pots; however, they are infused with colloidal silver, which kills all pathogen on contact, and sit perched atop the rim of a plastic bucket containing a spigot and a brush for cleaning. There is no install as these are not permanent. They simply sit on a table, chair or on the ground.
Clark said the group purchases the filters locally in Limuru, a town just north of Nairobi. They are then delivered by Jackson Kanga, operations manager, and an assistant(s) to a secure location in the area previously designated
He noted, the entire board of directors traveled to Kenya in 2023, all paying their own travel costs, though a full-time director and his volunteers coordinate pickups and drops in Kenya. Clark said he travels there once or twice a year for contract negotiation and to “reacquaint myself with good friends.”
Clark said a local church, a few non-profit philanthropic groups, some businesses and many individuals donate to his organization’s work. The group also holds Walk 4 Water fundraisers twice a year in Waynesboro and Frederick, Maryland, and an online Valentine’s Day “Gift of Love” fundraiser.
The recipients of this help have been glowing in their gratitude. “Thank you so much for your work here with the Massai. These filters are life saving and very much appreciated by us all,” said Dr. Lasiti Merue, The Ewaso Clinic.
“We here at home don’t think twice about getting a drink of clean water. Until I saw in person how great the need was, I had no idea,” said Judy Clark, now assistant treasurer, Clean Water Kenya.
“It’s a daily struggle to survive in MassaiLand, and clean water is a very precious commodity, something the Massai do not have without these filters. I’m glad I was able to donate and become a part of such a good work”
Kanga, as operations, noted, “Everyone I talk to are very happy to get these filters. They know how important they are to their health, especially the young ones.”
“I am blessed,” added a 100-year-old “Momma.”
