Give more than you take (July 13, 2011)

A wise person once told me that a responsible traveller should give more than he takes to the countries he visits.  Quite frankly, this is a sizable task given the amount of growth, learning and friendship that comes out of one’s travels.  None-the-less, I believe it to be true.  I have been challenged to step up my search for a way to leave behind something positive in Kenya by many of my loved once in Canada who are also looking for a way that they can make a positive contribution here.

In my active quest to find ways that a small group of people can create meaningful change, I have done some asking around.  It turns out that there is lots of ways to make a difference!

1: Give a family money to pay their children’s school fees.  In Kenya, most of the good schools are private and quite expensive.  Most of many parent’s salaries goes towards paying for their children’s education.  Some children also lack basic educational tools, such as light to study by after sundown.  Paying school fees and purchasing solar-powered desk lamps would give children some of the basic tools they need for their education.

2: Pay for a family to install gutters on their home for water collection.  Water availability is a big issue in Naivasha.  Most of the slums around the lake have no running water.  Actually, even in Naivasha Town, the lake’s semi-formal settlement, many homes lack running water.  Water is either collected directly from the lake or boreholes, or it is purchased from the “donkey guys”.  Aside for the obvious hygiene issues associated with drinking unpurified water, the water in this region is also very high in fluoride.  Consequently, the majority of citizens around Naivasha have fluorosis of the teeth.  Collecting clean, guttered rainwater presents free alternative to paying for water of sub-standard quality.  When the heavy rain comes in the rainy season, the clean water can be channeled into holding tanks large enough to sustain a family for months.

Fluorosis of the teeth is very common in Naivasha.  It arises from the very high fluoride content in the ground and lake water.

3: Provide much needed supplies to the local orphanage.  The orphanage in Naivasha supports many parentless children and is often in need of basic necessities including sanitary napkins, soap, toilet paper, toothbushes and toothpaste.  They also lack transportation for the children and would be very grateful for a donation of one or more bicycles, which are a very common mode of transportation in this area.   A donation to the orphanage would help support one of the most vulnerable populations around Naivasha.

Over the course of the next couple weeks, I plan to do more investigation into the feasibility and value of each of these options.  In the meantime, if you are interested in making a contribution or you have any ideas on how to help, please comment on this blog.  I’d love to hear what you have to say!