Water tanks for the dry season
- John Chisholm
- Aug 30
- 2 min read
In western Kenya, most poor families use buckets to collect rain from their roofs, and when it's dry they walk to collect water from springs, streams, and rivers.
A water tank is something everyone wants, and better-off homes are marked by visible, large water tanks. But even a small tank is out of reach for the poorest households, and that's where your support comes in to help.
Family Care's approach to working with families is all about collaboration. And recently, 130 families in four zones have built concrete slabs in preparation for receiving tanks from UKR so they can harvest rainwater.
Each concrete slab requires plenty of gravel, which is typically hand-smashed from stones using a hammer. Families also collect sand, buy cement, and pay a local mason. In return, they will each receive a 2000-liter (529 gallon) water tank.
The ability to store rainwater allows for small-scale irrigation, improves both hygiene and health, and frees up time for studying, working, and resting. Getting water for laundry or bucket-showers from a tank spigot is much easier than getting it from a silt-filled creek, a quarter of a mile away.
When the trucks begin arriving from Nairobi in the next week or two, stacked tall with water tanks, it will be a sight to behold (as always). There are high chances of spontaneous singing and dancing at every village reached.
We are currently supporting the purchase of 130 water tanks for families who are ready, after building their own concrete slabs. It will cost about $14,000, at $110 per tank.
Would you like to help us fund the effort? Each $110 tank will have a big impact in the life of one family, and the cost is very reasonable compared to the health and happiness it will bring for many years to come.
