Past District Governor Peter Moralee explained to the club the Rotary District 1220 Signature Sand Dams Project to fund the construction of a number of Sand Dams in Kenya during this Rotary year via a Rotary Foundation Global Grant.
Before the grant can be applied for District 1220 need to show they have pledges from the clubs in the District to the value of £9000. District has already received pledges totalling just over £6000.
District will have a contract with Excellent Development in the UK as their partners via the African Sand Dams Foundation to arrange the actual building of the Dams. Excellent Development have successfully constructed over 100 Dams to date, benefiting over one hundred thousand people to have clean fresh water “on tap” 365 days a year. The water is stored below ground in a bed of filtration sand which also protects the water from breeding mosquitoes and other insects.
A community Dam not only provides water for domestic use, it enables it to provide year-round irrigation for food production and industrial use such as brick making.
Not having to fetch water frees the time women and children previously spent every day collecting water, which was often contaminated. This enables the children to attend school and the women can be involved in more productive work.