Help Fund a School to Access Clean Water in Kenya

Dear Supporters,

GVI Fiji has been extremely busy over the past few months, helping to repair and restore damaged rainwater harvesting infrastructure in the villages of Moturiki Island. Following on with this work, we are excited to announce the next phase in provision of better access to clean water in rural communities. During our extensive time in the various rural villages on Moturiki Island, our team discovered that there was a large amount of water storage capacity that had fallen into disrepair and was no longer being used. Large concrete water tanks were in place in several villages and were not being used simply due to minor damage such as cracks and leaks.

Concrete tanks are particularly well suited for water storage in these communities because they are strong, sturdy, and typically have much larger capacities than newer plastic tanks. Unlike the more modern plastic rainwater harvesting tanks, they are also far more likely to survive cyclone conditions. Each of the concrete tanks were built in the past through village youth projects, and have a capacity of around 30 000L.

Over the next few months we are visiting, five of the villages on the island of Moturiki and assisting by carrying out repairs to eight of these damaged concrete water reservoirs, aiming to restore about 240 000L of rainwater storage capacity simply through repairs. This project also highlights the value in carrying out pre-emptive needs assessments in the communities prior to investing in new infrastructure, and ensuring that donor funds are used as judiciously as possible.

To ensure that the assistance and interventions provided have a sustainable, long-lasting impact on the communities we work with – GVI Fiji also carries out workshops in the villages where rainwater harvesting repairs or investment is conducted. These workshops cover topics like tank cleaning and maintenance, and ensure that local communities are equipped with the skills and knowledge to ensure that they protect and maintain their water sources in the village.

The continued efforts to restore and improve access to clean water through rainwater harvesting repairs and other interventions on the island of Moturiki ties in very closely with our ongoing WaSH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) program. In order to effectively implement basic WaSH protocols, the starting point is a clean water source. By ensuring that we tackle these issues holistically, GVI Fiji can ensure that the work that we carry out is long lasting and sustainable, a critical component of our conceptual framework on all our projects.

Kind Regards,

The GVI Community Development Team