Intern Journal Library - 2005-2006

A young Kenyan boy surveys the construction site where the Bio-Sand Water Filters are being produced

This young Kenyan boy gazes curiously at the commotion going on around him as he plays with a tub of Kimbo cooking fat. Normally, his mother uses this fat in food preparation, but on this day she is busy using it for an entirely different purpose. The Kimbo is used as grease in the construction of the Bio-Sand Water Filter, which is produced as part of a project initiated by Samaritan’s Purse, in the Chengoni location of the Samburu Division, Kwale district, Kenya. This six-month pilot project is being set up by Kenyan staff, as well as two Canadian CIDA-International Youth Internship Program (IYIP) interns, Matthew Lozie from Calgary, Alberta and Derek Enns from Kelowna, B.C. The project allows locals from rural villages to participate in the construction of a household water filter that will provide clean water for them and their families for life.

This local women show the men the proper technique for using a cement trowel

In the semi-arid land of rural Kenya, there is precious little water and it is all too common to see locals dipping their jerry cans into road side puddles in search for the life sustaining fluid. The Bio-Sand Water Filter turns this dirty sludge into drinkable water through an appropriate technology that uses slow sand filtration and is installed into the home of each filter recipient. To ensure the filter is cared for and used properly, we have tailored a program in this location to incorporate the nationals in filter construction and transportation. Each recipient has been through at least one water awareness seminar and a filter use/health and hygiene training session before they receive a filter. Another important aspect of the construction of the filter is the opportunity it provides for the women in the village to try their hand at a completely new task leading to an increased confidence in their abilities.

As interns, we have taken this project from a thought and made it a reality. Through teaching, encouraging and hard work, we have been passing on this technology to the local Kenyans so that, by the time we depart, it will be a locally run. It is our hope that as word of this technology spreads to other villages, it will be requested on the initiative of their own people and therefore foster community support and participation.

Samaritan’s Purse Intern Matthew Lozie teaches a group of Kenyans during a break from the de-silting of their dried up surface water dam. The dam is pictured in the background.

For me, the most satisfying aspect of the project is being invited into the home of a filter recipient and seeing the results of our labors in the form of clean water. Most of the recipients have several young children that are plagued by diarrhea, worms and rashes, but it is encouraging to know that these will be greatly reduced with the addition of the Bio-Sand Water filter in their home.