ince 1991 Orinie Dispensary has operated without a water supply, limiting the health services they can provide to immunizations and nutritional support. The dispensary is the closest medical facility to over 30,000 people living in eight villages. When we met Nurse Timothy in 2023, he shared about the impact water would have on the facility including:
- Adding services such as maternal healthcare and infectious disease care
- Receiving full-time medical staff from the County Government
- Elevating the dispensary to a health center, reducing the distance people travel from 42 miles to a maximum of eight.
Recognizing the impact that water would have at this location, we established a partnership with the Orinie community. Over the last 10 months we’ve continued to get to know key stakeholders in Orinie, fundraised for the project, and on Thursday, April 11 we mobilized the drilling rig and began drilling at Orinie Dispensary!
“We thank God for a good start today at 8:15am EAT. The trucks arrived yesterday evening. It was raining here and the job couldn't start so today we started with a word of prayer with community members led by chief Ruth. Let's see how the day will go!” -Pastor Kiroka
Watch a 60 second recap below! From the time the drilling rig arrived on site to when we hit the aquifer!
After two days of drilling we reached 250 meters and the aquifer! We celebrated the presence of water and turned our attention to the next steps which will determine whether the water is enough and clean. Next week we’ll perform a 24 hour test pump to determine the yield and a chemical analysis to ensure the water is safe for human consumption.
Thank you to everyone who generously donated to this project. We began fundraising in June 2023 when 103 people walked 6k for Water and it was completed during our Harambee campaign last fall. We are hopeful that Orinie will soon experience water security for the first time and are grateful to the hundreds of people who are a part of that story! Stay tuned for future updates as we continue the journey to water!
