Sustainable Water and Housing

ECOLIFE, in collaboration with Save the Elephants, has implemented an innovative, self-sustaining program to provide clean drinking water and safe housing for the 300 elementary school children at the West Gate School in Samburu, Kenya.  Permanent and safe dormitories were built to provide housing for female students.  With new buildings and metal roofs available, ECOLIFE installed a rainwater collection system at the school.

In the shadow of Mount Kenya, the national parks and extensive ranch and communal lands of the Samburu Heartland support some of Africa’s most impressive wildlife and wild lands. Species like the reticulated giraffe and the Grevy’s zebra roam the acacia grassland where lions and wild dogs hunt their prey.

The Samburu people have co-existed with wildlife for hundreds of years and are semi-nomadic. The semi-nomadic nature of the Samburu means the children often have to live at their school to receive an education. Just outside the Samburu National Reserve, The West Gate School provides an education to a limited number of young Samburu children who need to live at the school site. With crowded conditions, young children are often left to find their own shelter in the local community leaving them vulnerable to many types of predatory behavior.

Additionally, the nearest source of water is inside the Samburu National Reserve at the Ewaso Ng'iro River. The water is not safe to drink and the children are often at the mercy of wildlife competing for the valuable water resource. These wildlife conflicts pit the survival of people against the most important economic resource in Kenya, its wildlife.

Many groups implementing water programs in the Samburu region focus on using wells. Wells create multiple challenges including high installation costs, and the need for maintenance dollars along with specific tools, parts and skills.  They deplete ground water and in doing so begin pulling toxins like arsenic to the surface.  Once a well part breaks, people return to collecting unsanitary water rather than spending limited funds on repairs. Unlike the current systems used in Kenya, ECOLIFE’s water collecting system takes advantage of the infrequent but heavy seasonal rainfalls as a source of drinking water.

In 2010, the traditional open fires in the school’s kitchen were replaced with a fuel-efficient cooker that will provide meals for up to 400 students with more than a 50% savings in fuel. A properly installed chimney allows a healthy environment for the cook at the school, who will no longer inhale smoke several hours a day.