Charity Projects

Helping Africa help itself

We are a charity that works with one large Maasai community using Western know how and some money to create sustainable reductions in the effects of poverty in that community. Consider installing a water pump as an example. Local people build the well. The charity purchases the hand pump and we work together to build the well top and fit the pump. The community has a safe source of water, girls have less distance to carry the water and through this training, some people now have the possibility of a job installing wells and pumps. Spare parts are left with the community.
All our projects need finance. If you agree with what we are doing, please consider a donation or a fund raising event.

New School Build

About 2-3 miles from the edge of the community, there is a small (private) primary school. Classrooms are in corrugated iron 'shacks' which leak when it rains, are either too hot or too cold and become too noisy to teach in if windy. Equipment is minimal and the few books are shared.

Following an exploratory visit in Feb 2010, we decided to build a new boarding primary school in the heart of the community ready for the start of school year in January 2012. This is now finished, three excellent teachers employed and we have our first 3 classes full.  Now the real work starts of nurturing the building into a great school.

Click for much more information on our school project
Want to know more about education in Kenya? If so, click here

Provision of clean water

In May 2010, Osiligi paid for a pump and helped install a clean water source, via a sealed well and pump. Before this well, the only water was from a waterhole next to a small underwater spring. This water was open to the air and was used by many animals as well as the community. Animal faeces surrounded the water. Many people in the community suffered bouts of diarrhoea and dysentery.

In 2005, a well was hand-dug but was never finished. In April 2010, we had the well re-dug, and in May a concrete top and hand pump fitted.
Three people from the community have been trained in the installation and maintenance of hand-pumps.
In Kenya, girls are the main fetcher of water. There is a high correlation between the closeness of a watersource and girls attending school.

In 2011, we provided a clean water source from a spring. Previously, the spring fed a dirty pool of water used by both animals and humans for drinking. With the well, the community now has two sources of free clean drinking water. For the next 2 years, we will be converting more springs to clean drinking water.

Click for more information on our clean water project.

Sponsor a child

To complete our 2012 intake, we are looking for people to half sponsor a child. For January 2013, we are looking for 25 new sponsors to support next year's school year. The children will be taught at the new school. Many will be orphans, some will have a single mother, all will be from desperately poor families.

Are you able to help?

Click for more information of our child sponsorship scheme

Micro-finance

We went to Kenya intending to explore the possibility of setting up a micro-finance system. We were very surprised but delighted to find that one already existed in the Maasai community. A group of 25 small business women had set up a self-help group. One of the purposes of the group is to make small loans to other group members. During 2010, we made an interest free loan to this self-help group, in order to increase their capital base. Making a loan rather than a gift is part of our strive to help Africa help itself. After some help from the charity, the group are now buying and selling solar lanterns to make money for the group and to eliminate kerosene lamps from homes and the harmful fumes that come from them.

Solar lamps and cookers