Gratitude is Abound
Archer's Post, Samburu - This area holds a special place in my heart as it was my introduction to Samburu in 2005. In 2011, The Samburu Project expanded its reach beyond Wamba and moved into Archer's Post and Sere Olipi. With six wells in Archer's Post, Lucas and I had a full day of visiting communities.
I met a young girl today named Evelyn. Her father is one of the elders in the Lolgerded Well community. When Evelyn was five, she was attacked by a hyena. Miraculously she survived and after two years in the hospital in Nairobi she was able to go back home. She's now in Class 7 at Lerata Primary School and dreams of becoming a nurse. Math & Science are her favorite subjects. We had the great fortune of driving Evelyn and her sister Miriam back to school after our visit at Lolgerded.
Lolgerded is the kind of community that really inspires me to work harder. They take great pride in their well which was drilled in 2012 and were overflowing with gratitude during our meeting. The women adorned Lucas and me with jewelry while the they shared their future plans for the well.
Before the Lolgerded Well was drilled, women in this community walked six hours each day in search of water. The water they drank was from hand dug wells that were contaminated and salty. Many people in the community were afflicted with diarrhea, the common cold and eye infections due to drinking and using dirty water. Thanks to their well, overall community health has improved significantly.
One of the highlights of our visit to Lolgerded was our art project on the back of the truck. Everyone gathered around to make a sign to thank Pittsburgh Children's Foundation who funded the well. The big topic of conversation was the crayola markers. None of the children had seen anything like them and were incredibly fascinated. A great reminder to be thankful for what we have!
The rest of the day was filled with more wells: Nakwamuru, Supalek, Laresoro, Lolparuai and Lerata B. With each well and every community there are handfuls of stories to tell. The one story line that runs throughout is that access to clean water changes lives and for that everyone is grateful.
