Did you turn on a faucet today?  If you’re like me, it is something that is done numerous times a day without even thinking.

Without running water, families in the slums must carry all their water, often from a significant distance

Yet this seemingly insignificant action is a luxury out of reach to every member of the Tenderfeet family.

There have been many advancements of technology in Kenya.

These include effective public transportation, cell phones, and cyber cafes.  But one big part of life is a challenge for everyone living in poverty.

That part of life is water.  In the slums, no one has running water.

Even in areas of town that are more affluent, water pressure is often so low that it is basically useless.  This has been especially bad because of nation-wide water shortages that have hit Kenya hard the past several years.

That means no faucets to turn on — as well as no showers to enjoy, no toilets to flush, and no convenient way to wash dishes or clothes.

All water must be purchased from a local vendor.  Usually the women of the family will walk as much as a half a mile or more to fill large containers with water at the vendor’s tap.

These containers then have to be hauled back to the home.  With a larger family, it will take many containers to get through the week.

There is virtually no area of life that is not impacted by this problem.  For instance, suppose a family has children in school.  Most poor families are unable to pay for the child’s lunch, so many kids come home at noon to eat.

This means that if the children are to have a good meal, the family has to have water on hand to cook lunch, then wash the dishes.

Most Kenyan staples such as ugali, rice, and beans, require a fair amount of water for preparation.   Making it more difficult is the fact that families in the slums don’t have any way to refrigerate the food, so it cannot be stored easily and must be prepared more often.

Even simple tasks such as washing your hands before a meal are affected by the water problem.  The Kenyan solution is for the host to prepare a pitcher of warm water to pour over the outstretched hands of each person.  Please see the photo below to see Tenderfeet kids getting ready to eat.

Teacher Karen uses the Kenyan approach to wash the hands of children before a meal

Water is a big challenge at the Tenderfeet school. We have 90 children to feed twice per day, which takes a lot of water!

We are fortunate to have a large water tank, with water harvesting that re-uses runoff water from the roof during rainy times.  The tank and water harvesting system was provided by our generous friends from Collette.

The tank is normally filled by water trucks which visit the neighborhood from time to time.

Mama Margaret stands by the school's 5000 liter water tank. Note how runoff from the roof feeds into a system of gutters that replenishes the tank.

The school is also blessed to have a water well, which was dug last October.  This is a fantastic resource, which was sponsored by our friends at the Children of Light organization.

This water well is a great help during dry seasons

Hopefully, you have running water at your house. If you do, next time you turn on the faucet be sure to give thanks for the convenience!

Although the Tenderfeet kids don’t have the same convenience, we are grateful for the sponsors who have provided a way for the children to have access to water during the school day.