OLOIKARERE WELL PROJECT

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COMMUNITY BACKGROUND

The Oloikarere is a semi-arid land environment located 45 Kilometers northeast of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and 4 Kilometers west of Chyulu Hills National Park. The area is woodland savanna with 500 Maasai residents, 1,000 livestock, and is home to hundreds of wildlife such as Eland, Oryx, Wildebeest, Zebras, Baboons, Gazelles, and Giraffes. Most of the animals from Chyulu Hills National Park spend six months out of the year in Oloikarere area. Oloikarere is also known as a popular corridor for wildlife migrating from and to Amboseli National Park.

PROBLEM

“Over 2 billion persons living in poverty in the developing world are at high risk due to lack of clean water,” CDC 2007. Members of Oloikarere community are among the 2 billion people without clean water. The people, livestock, and wildlife have to walk 10 Kilometers to Merrueshi community for clean water. In the rainy season residents of Oloikarere community must depend on groundwater, which is not safe for drinking and cleaning. Waterborne disease such as cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery are not foreign in the area. The absence of clean and adequate water supply imposes an enormous threat to the health of Oloikarere community. Also, due to inadequate clean water supply in Oloikarere community, local Maasai farmers have not been able to participate in the market economy. A new well in Oloikarere community will help prevent waterborne diseases – hence the local people will improve their health and standards of leaving.

Picture above is of kids collecting drinking ground water in Oloikarere

SOLUTION

The solution to this problem is to drill a well and equip with a submersible pump, generator, cistern, troughs and pipes. Based on need assessment a diesel engine would be idea for the proposed project. The cistern should have the capacity to hold 25, 000 liters of water.

OBJECTIVES

The following objectives will be realized when Oloikarere well project is completed:

• Clean and adequate water supply will be available
• Health for the entire community will be improved
• The amount of food production such as milk, cheese, and meat will increase per household
• Income per capita among members of the beneficiary community will go up

Community Water Rights

All villagers agreed to comply with the conditions of community water rights set forward by the local committee. This will help to avert conflicts among water users and prevent farmers from violating water rights.

In order to smoothly operate and maintain the new well, the villagers have established the followings:

Well Committee: the community has agreed to select a well committee that will oversee the well and insure smooth operation and sustainability. The well committee will be responsible for collecting fees, hire and supervise the operator, purchase diesel, oil, and parts.

Well Fund Account: the community has agreed to establish a Well Fund Account needed to upkeep the well. With their improved livestock, each villager will be able to pay a reasonable fee per head of cattle for water usage. The community will use the fees to sustain the well.

Operator: the community has a local person in mind that will be trained by another well operator from Merrueshi community. The operator will be responsible for operating and maintaining the well as needed.

The cost to commission Oloikarere Well Project is estimated at $30,000. Any financial support you can provide will be highly appreciated. The project will start immediately when the funds become available and will be completed two (2) months from the start date. Click to support this project.