Clean Water at the School

Last month's Dental Banquet was huge, we are still so greatful for all those who participated and made the fundraiser a success. However, a new dental chair at the Kipkaren Clinic wasn't the only exciting thing to happen last month. September also brought clean water to the Chebaiywa School. Check out these amazing pictures to see how excited the school children were.

"Water Is Life!"

"The truck arrives to start drilling the borehole"

At 3:25 AM on March 18, 2010, the Kipkaren well project officially began! Michelle Kiprop, clinic director, reported on the arrival of the trucks and the resounding cheers of the villagers shouting "Maji ni uhai ~Water is Life". By the end of April, the pump should be supplying fresh, clean water!

We will provide updates as we receive them.

A heartfelt thanks to everyone who has made this possible--and to Dr. Fitzgerald for her fervent perseverance in making this a reality!

First Day of Clinic - Well Water

Randy Luth spent the day walking miles and miles to different wells around the clinic, training center, Children's Home, and other neighboring wells.  He was able to get a water sample from each well.  The water sample tests take 24-48 hours to develop, and Randy will report back with his findings as soon as they are available.

Making a Difference, One Drop at a Time

The Pure Water Foundation, Inc. - John & Mary Jo Hays

During our upcoming trip to Kenya, we will be taking two water chlorination systems for use at the KipKarin clinic and village. The systems were developed by Iowa’s own John Hays. Mr. Hays is the water superintendent of Washington, Iowa, and has taken on the personal mission of supplying water systems to developing countries. The need for clean water remains the number one need as nearly 40% of our world’s population lacks basic sanitation, while one billion of our world’s citizenry lacks access to clean drinking water. That is a staggering 20% of our world’s population! Uganda has the largest population without safe drinking water—followed closely by Kenya.

The Hays’ have founded their own nonprofit, the Pure Water for All Foundation with the aptly stated mission statement, “Making a difference, ONE drop at a time”. Through their efforts they have supplied villages in Africa, India, Asia, Russia, Europe, Nicaragua, Haiti, Mexico, Columbia, and Venezuela with water filtration systems.

Their chlorination system uses a salt solution that runs through a solar charged chlorine generator several times. The result is chlorine that can treat several hundred gallons of contaminated water.

This picture, courtesy of John Hays, shows a baby cemetery in Tanzania, Africa. When Randy and Carol Luth met with Mr. Hays, he shared with them that he thought this odd looking field was some sort of tribal garden. Unfortunately, he quickly learned this was not a garden but a cemetery where the villagers buried their babies-- many victims of diseases caused by dirty water. Before introducing his water chlorination system to the village, there were over 120 cases of typhoid per month. Today the village is down to just two cases of typhoid per month thanks to clean water! No more baby cemeteries!

Spanda, Inc is pleased to provide the chlorination system as well as the training to use the chlorinator to our Kenyan friends. We are all very excited to work with Rotary International to drill a well which will provide a fresh water supply to the entire KipKarin village. The initial survey has been completed. We all greatly appreciate our Rotary partners and the Hays’ for helping us to bring clean water to our Kenyan neighbors. It truly does take only a single idea and a single drop of clean water to move the world!

Randy and Carol Luth...Ready To Do Anything

Randy and Carol Luth are first-time travelers to Africa. After surviving all of the travel shots, sending their first child, Jacob, off to college, and granting their daughter, Sarah, the privilege to drive, they are officially ready to go! Although not sure what to expect, they both are excited and proud to be a part of this dynamic team.

Randy is a 22 year employee of the United States Department of Labor where he works as an investigator for the Wage and Hour Division. His interested in international aid and relief work was peaked when he served as a post-Hurricane Katrina recovery volunteer. He hopes that in the future, after retirement, he may be able to combine both of these experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Randy has been researching water filtration systems (read more in a future blog post) to assist the clinic and village with a sanitary water supply until the planned well can be dug. Rotary has been working with Spanda Inc. to drill a well which will serve this community.

Randy is also working to establish a supply of Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-Food products to serve this region. This food product will be used to combat severe malnutrition faced by the Kenyan people. (Please read more about this product in the post of Help Us Name Mary’s Babies.)

Carol works as the Director for the Cedar Rapids Vision In Motion clinic. This is the second program of the nonprofit, Spanda Inc. The clinic is an outpatient occupational therapy clinic serving the vision wellness and rehabilitation needs of low vision clients, neuro-vision rehab patients, and the needs of young adults and children. The goal of this unique program is to help each patient achieve maximum success in their daily living activities----school, employment, or in their ability to remain living independently.

Carol, along with Bridgit Brandt, will be blogging and writing about the team’s African experience. She also will be compiling information for future grant applications and micro-lending opportunities to assist the villagers in sustaining their clinic’s business operations.

The Visionary Behind Eye Care Kenya

As our team begins preparing to depart on our upcoming October Kenyan mission, it seems only fitting to introduce you to a true visionary and the founder of Spanda Inc., Dr. DeAnn Fitzgerald, OD.
Doc, as her patients, family, and friends call her, has been a practicing optometrist in the corridor community for the past 25 years. Her private eye care practice provides comprehensive eye care services to over 10,000 patients annually. Realizing her passion for optometry and health care as well as her desire to do more for our local and world communities, she founded her own nonprofit, Spanda Inc., in 2006.
Spanda Inc. is based on the notion that “it takes only a single idea, a single action to move the world”. With that thought, she has sponsored two mission trips to Kipkaren, Kenya. Through fundraising efforts and her own generosity, a health care clinic was built and local villagers were trained to operate the clinic. Doc also purchased a satellite, which has enabled her to keep in contact with the villagers. Currently, she is working with Rotary to provide fresh water to the clinic and village. She is also working with Dr. Karen Besler, a local Cedar Rapids dentist, to bring expanded dentistry services to the clinic. She is also working to establish a supply route for a therapeutic food designed to combat malnutrition. (Please stay tuned to future blogs describing all of these projects in greater detail.)
When asked why she began this mission work, Doc replied, “The moment I knew I wanted to do this---it became a process. I never thought “little ole me” could ever be able to do something like this. It was like a steamroller---other community members, businesses, and colleagues all became involved. I have been outside of my comfort zone as I embarked on this journey. But it did not matter. I realized that a piece of my destiny was to bring hope and humbly empower and inspire my Kenyan neighbors. I totally believe there is something bigger than each of us. It is amazing to be a part of all of this!”
One need not look any further than Dr. DeAnn Fitzgerald to see a leader with tremendous heart and spirit ready to “take a single idea”, create a strong team, and develop dreams that make our community and world a much better place to live.
Please join us on this journey…..