Water sustainability efforts
Let Hope and Water Flow
Girls help the house mother carry rainwater.
Deacon Joseph & Andrew fetch water from Ewuaso Town.
Jugs of water are brought back to the rescue center.
In Kenya, 15 million people lack access to safe water and 37 million live without safe toilets (Water.org). For many, especially women and girls, each day begins with an hours-long walk under the scorching sun to fetch water—time stolen from school, safety, and opportunity.
The Ewuaso Osiligi School and Rescue Center (EOC) is situated in the Kenyan Rift Valley, with nearby proximity to the village of Ewuaso Kedong. This area is noted for its vast expanse of arid and semi-arid beauty, volcanic landscape, livestock grazing, and Maasai culture. All life in this area faces significant challenges with water scarcity and land degradation due to erratic rainfall, high evaporation rates, limited access to any flowing surface water (river/streams/ponds or lakes), deficient subsurface water reservoirs due to volcanic dominated geology, and an ever growing increase in human activity. The current water supply at the EOC has become increasingly unreliable and inadequate for the growing rescue center and school.
The KSOH and EOC boards of directors are working jointly on the creation of a multi-pronged strategy to improve sustainability for both the EOC and the surrounding Ewuaso area in the following ways:
- Securing additional freshwater by pipeline — we have found a reliable water source at Maai Mahiu, a steady river that can be piped to Ewuaso and the EOC
- Enhancing water harvesting and storage of all natural rainfall at the EOC, including rooftop gathering and surface gutter systems directed to large volume enclosed cistern storage and filtration
- Maximizing use of all EOC “greywater” generated from sinks, baths, showers, clothes washing for non-potable water uses, such as garden and tree irrigation, cleaning, and toilet flushing
- Using water conserving methods across the entire EOC campus
Continue reading recent newsletter articles below for more information on current projects, strategies, and opportunities. Together, we can help bring safe, sustainable water—and hope—to Ewuaso!
Water cistern on the EOC campus overflowing with recent rainwater.
Water — Strategies to Let Hope Flow
The Importance of Cisterns for Water Collection & Storage
A cistern is a large container or tank specifically designed to store water, most often rainwater. It functions like a big barrel or box and is commonly constructed from durable materials such as concrete, plastic, or metal. The process of building a cistern typically involves either digging a hole in the ground to install the tank or placing it above ground. Cisterns can play a vital role in water collection and storage, especially during rainy seasons. The water they collect can be used for a variety of purposes, including drinking, cooking, washing, and watering plants. This is particularly beneficial in regions where water is scarce and the rains come infrequently.
Ewuaso Osiligi School and Rescue Center currently has one concrete cistern to help provide a dependable water supply for the children and staff. This cistern collects rainwater from the dormitory roof and the roofs of the classrooms. It holds over 26,000 gallons of water. Although this may seem like a large volume, it represents less than a one month water supply for the campus. Therefore, water provided from the cistern and water delivered via pipeline from the community water supply are both essential parts of the overall EOC water supply. There are plans to add one or two additional cisterns to the campus to catch rainwater from the roofs of Multipurpose Hall and possibly the Staff Quarters in the near future. In the case of the Multipurpose Hall, the cistern might be made much larger than the existing cistern because of the very large roof area. These cisterns together with improvements in water pipeline capacity will help ensure good supplies of water into the future.
March 2026
Water — Strategies to Let Hope Flow
EOC Water Tower
At Ewuaso Osiligi School and Rescue Center (EOC), the primary sources of water are rainwater harvesting/storage (when the very infrequent rain comes) and water deliveries via a small pipeline from the community water supply (when water is available). As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, projects to improve the water supply from both sources are actively being evaluated and pursued. For this month, we will focus a bit on how water delivered by pipeline will be moved to the various buildings on the steeply-sloping, 12-acre campus using the recently completed water tower.
The EOC campus is situated on a hillside with the front being the lowest elevation. The water tower is located at the highest point (back left corner) to take maximum advantage of the natural elevation of the land. The foundation and first elevated level of the tower was constructed in 2023, and three more levels were added in 2025. Water delivered to EOC by pipeline arrives at the front of the campus (lowest point) where receiving tanks are located. From there it is currently moved in various ways to where it is needed. In the future, when sufficient pipeline water becomes available, the water will be pumped uphill (by solar power) to the water tower to then be distributed by gravity flow to the various buildings as needed. Gravity flow is efficient and will provide consistent pressure at the delivery points.
As water sources are improved and the water tower is put into regular service, it will help EOC to more effectively provide for the growing number of God’s children served and all those that teach and care for them.
February 2026