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 surface water (rivers, streams, ponds, or lakes), deficient subsurface water reservoirs due to volcanic dominated geology, and an ever growing increase in human presence and activity. Since the center's founding in 2016, the EOC's water supply 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 water via 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, enclosed cisterns and filtration systems
  • Maximizing use of all EOC “greywater” generated from sinks, baths, showers, and 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!


From Vision to Provision

Ewuaso Osiligi Water Pipeline Project Begins

After years of careful planning, community consultations, and overcoming significant logistical hurdles, we are thrilled to share that the EOC Water Pipeline Project has transitioned from planning to implementation. Two weeks ago, a number of our girls, board members, staff, and Ewuaso community members gathered with government officials to witness a historic milestone: the groundbreaking of the EOC Water Pipeline Project at Kitilikini River.


Deep in the forest, what had long felt like an impossible dream became tangible. This was more than a construction launch; it was an answered prayer and a moment of profound relief for the girls at EOC and the entire Ewuaso community. Significantly, this marks only the second major water project in Ewuaso in nearly 30years, the first since the initiative commissioned by the late Hon. George Saitoti in the early 1990s. 


The impact of this water project is far-reaching. At EOC, consistent water access will expand our farming activities, moving us to greater self-sufficiency. Our girls will spend less time queuing for water, hours that can now be devoted to education and extra-curricular activities. For women across Ewuaso, it means safer, shorter journeys to collect water for their households. Livestock will no longer walk miles to drink. Our grounds will be greener, and the surrounding ecosystem will benefit.


The girls at the center and the people of Ewuaso will carry this gift in their hearts. Because of your generosity, their future looks different and they will never forget. 

May 2026

Water - Strategies to Let Hope Flow

The Ewuaso Osiligi Water Pipeline Project

Deep in the arid Rift Valley of Kenya, there is a special place called the Ewuaso Osiligi Rescue Center and School, a home and school for rescued girls and children who need care, shelter, education, and love. Like many communities in this dry and remote region of Africa, getting clean, reliable water to the Center has been a daily challenge. To solve this, a new pipeline will be built that will carry fresh water from a stream intake point high up in the hills, using nothing but the natural force of gravity to move the water downhill through nearly 20 kilometers of pipe and no electricity is required. Think of it like a very long garden hose running downhill from a mountain stream all the way to the Center's doorstep.

This project will bring clean, dependable water directly to the children and staff at the Ewuaso Osiligi Rescue Center and School every single day. Water that was once difficult to obtain will now flow reliably into storage tanks at the Center, where it will be used for drinking, cooking, bathing, and keeping the children healthy. The project is moving forward with great momentum, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by all parties, and the Water Use Agreement is currently under review and expected to be signed any day. It is a simple gift with a profound impact because when children have clean water, they can thrive. This water pipeline is being built with love and purpose, as part of the ongoing mission to give the children of Ewuaso Osiligi the safe, dignified life they deserve.

April 2026

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.


EOC’s three-story dormitory is also situated on high land at the back of the campus (back right corner). Tanks on the top level of the water tower will enable gravity flow to the dormitory, including to the solar water heating equipment on the dormitory roof. Water service to other buildings further down the hill will be provided with water from tanks on the most appropriate levels of the water tower. 


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