Kenya
Connect: Instagram | Facebook
Are you a Princeton student interested in joining the team? Come by our meetings on Sundays in Frist 309 at 2:00pm and get involved! We’ll teach you everything you need to know— and you don’t need to be an engineer. Contact ig7457@princeton.edu or snyakea@princeton.edu with any questions.
Our Project
The Kenya Team's project began in 2013 after Princeton Swahili Professor Mahiri Mwita approached the Princeton student chapter about launching a program in his hometown in the Kuria district, Nyanza Province, in Southwest Kenya. We identified that many families and students in the area had limited access to potable water, and faced long lines for the limited sources in the area. Community members often shared water sources with cattle and other animals, leading to generally unsanitary conditions and frequent typhoid outbreaks. Since then the team has worked to better the quality of life of communities within the Kuria district by improving the availability of clean drinking water.
Current Progress
Throughout the years we have implemented rain catchment systems in two primary schools and a community warehouse, as well as two solar-powered boreholes for both Kiburanga and Kubweye primary schools. In all of the phases of assessment, implementation and monitoring we also work to promote safe water practices through education and community meetings and empower the community to identify and meet community needs.
Where We’re Headed
This summer, we will return to the Kuria district to implement a water distribution system for the Duveskog Primary School and the surrounding Nyabohanse Community. This system will include a large storage tank that will draw water from the already existing distribution main owner by Migori County Water and Sanitation Company. The tank will be connected to a gravity-fed pipe network to serve several households in the area. Our hope is to provide water quickly and efficiently to different locations in the community. We will also be assessing for future projects in partnership with the local government as we continue bettering our understanding of the community’s needs and resources.
Our Blog Posts
Read about our personal experiences working in country, getting a taste of local food, reflecting on our volunteering experience, and more.
Featured Video
Check out what we did during our assessment trip to the Kuria district in the Summer of 2023!