Back to MoiNdabi...

Last week I went back to MoiNdabi. You may remember that just two weeks ago it was in the middle of a flood, a seasonal problem that threatens the lives of the community and their livestock and that destorys homes and fields. It had rained a lot since my previous visit so I was anxious to go back and see how the people were while continuing Mission Care International's work to assess the water project and try to improve the filtration of the water.

The startling thing about the floods in this area is that it hardly rains here at all. The village is situated in a great valley and the rain normally comes down on the other side of the mountain. So the people find themselves battling with dry, dusty plains that prove highly difficult to grow and cultivate crops and the livestock find little to feed on. But then all of a sudden the rains that fall elsewhere cause an almighty torrent of muddy water to rush through the area, causing havoc. The previous two days before I arrived it hadn't actually rained, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but the riverbed had dried up completely. The water had gone and all that was left was the carving in the earth of the route that it had taken, the ravaged fields that had been being cultivated and the boulders scattered around that had been brought down from the mountain with the surge of water.

The consequences of the floods are devastating, particularly bearing in mind the ongoing struggle to grow food in this barren land. Immediately after the floods green grass springs up, but I am assured that this won't last more than a week. The other thing that I struggle to believe is that some of the ramshackle houses are still standing. This time the flood wasn't violent enough to reach the dwellings, but I came across a house with five children inside, all under the age of ten, which was directly in line with the course of the flood. If the floods came unexpectedly during the night, the lives of these small children woudl be dramatically at risk.

There was some good news in as much that there has been progress with the filtration systems that we are hoping to refurbish. We are hoping that the system will be working within the next month. The Catholic Diocese of Nakuru provide a water quality programme, whereby they help communities, remote areas and individual households by providing filters. It is believed that the amount of fluoride in the water in MoiNdabi is three times the permissible level. As fluoride is absorbed into the skeleton and teeth of people drinking the water it leads to fluorosis, a lifelong and painful disease causing the browning and chipping of teeth and disturbed growth of the skeleton. Fluorosis is incurable, but needs very simple intervention to prevent it.

Together, we are putting in filtration systems in MoiNdabi. With a basic education programme this will compliment the work already done by Mission Care to make significant changes in this troubled and poverty stricken area of Kenya.