Charitable Appeal: Water for Rural Kenya

Today I received a note from our buddy Bob Chew, who is leading a noble appeal for funds to help provide water to a  rural community in Kenya, Africa. In case you weren't quite awake during those Geography classes at St Joe, here's a couple of maps to help you along ...

Anyway, below I give you Bob's email verbatim, and let you decide for yourself if you want to be a part of this initiative ...

Email from Bob Chew


Hi,
Last yr  I went to Kenya to visit  Fr Francis  Teo , a  catholic priest,  at his  mission.  He is Chinese man originally from Malacca. At 23, he left  his  home and went  there searching  for meaning  in life . He later signed  up   for  religious  training  and  got  ordained as a priest there. He  is now 47.  He has spent  a good  part  of his  life  in Kenya  and  it seems like he will continue to live  there  for the rest of his life.

He is now  in Miri  and  will be  in Kuching on Saturday. While here,  he  will  be conducting masses, sharing his  exotic African experiences and his community life projects with the Kuching audience. 

His  group  is known as  MCSPA -  Missionary Community of  St. Paul the Apostle.  They  are  based  in the impoverished wilderness in  the Turkana region which is  located  in the north-western part of  Kenya, a  desert  region  that is  hot  throughout the day and night and  throughout the year.  MCSPA's  mission is  to develop  water  resources  for  the  villages.  What  they  have  done is  incredible. This precious little  water collected  in dams and boreholes have  helped avert  drought  and  famine  for  a  number  of  years  that so often  hit  the  people of that  region. For us it is images of fly-infested children skinny like skeletons and swollen tummies.

For more information on MCSPA, check this website.                

I am  putting  together  some  money  to  pass  on to  him   as a  gesture  of  our  support .  I  am  hoping  we  can  put  together  RM 15 000,  a  tidy sum  to drill a borehole  with a  manual  handpump.  Please  dig  into  your  pockets and let's do it together.

I will  passing  to him the  money  before  he  leaves .I  will also  be  meeting  him  daily  while  he  is  in Kuching  from Saturday  onwards.  As  MCSPA  does  not  have  an ac in Malaysia,  i  will  have  to pass  him cash. If  u  will  , you will have  to bank  into my ac  first  and  i will  draw  it  and  pass  it over.  I do   have  an ac for  community  work too.

Public Bank Bhd   3125837330.

Thanks  for  your  action .  Bye  bye.

Chew Pok  Vun  ( Bob)

Kuching

Email: lkcbob@tm.net.my

Here are the photos Bob sent me, from his Kenya trip.

                                                                               Pic 1

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I have  asked  Fr Francis Teo  a few times since 2004 whether I could visit  him in his mission . On 30 Sept 2010 I finally landed in Nairobi, Kenya 6 years after I  first asked .3 days  later , I was on my way to Lodwar, Turkana , northwest region of  Kenya,  an  area of  where it’s  hot throughout  day and  night.

                                                                             Pic 2

Me and Fr Francis outside his church at Lodwar before Sunday mass. Fr Francis speaks fluent Turkanese and Swahili. He grew  up in Malacca. At  age 23 , he cut short his  studies in S’pore  and  left     for Africa in search  for  meaning in life.  He enrolled  for religious  training in 1992 and  was  ordained as  a  catholic priest in 1997 . Now 47, he has spent a  greater part of his  life devoted to community work amongst Kenya’s poorest.

                                                                                  Pic 3


 Me with colourful ladies waiting for church service to start.

                                                                                 Pic 4


This is what you get when you successfully build a dam. They take a mountain stream, build a dam to retain the water. At Turkana, it rains only 1-2 weeks in a year. During this short  time  you have to capture as much water as possible,  otherwise  it will all run off.. With the dam, you have water for the next 6-9 months, on which the animals survive. When animals survive, children can get milk and blood from the animals. Hunger and famine are thus averted.

                                                                               Pic 5


Me  visiting  a local family whose dwelling is made from  branches and woven leaves  on the banks of  lake Turkana .  Can house 4-5 people. Pretty  cool inside  against the  hot  harshness  outside. Very clever .

                                                                              Pic 6

This is a borehole with a manual hand-operated pump. A borehole  is a well created by drilling  to the  water table . A  pvc pipe is installed which iis much like a straw in a bottle. Each of these cost RM 15k. 

Well, over to you guys and gals .... Just do what you think is right. Contact Bob directly if you want to contribute.