April 2008. Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute and author of the best-selling The End of Poverty, joined a Friends of Timboni Feeder School thank-reception held prior to his City Arts & Lectures talk at Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, on April 9. Sachs’s lecture focused on the new economic paradigm he presents in his just-published book, Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. He generously accepted our invitation to stop by a small reception we held beforehand to thank local friends, donors, and supporters. Sachs spoke warmly to our group of twenty, applauding and supporting our efforts at Timboni and offering to have a representative from his Millenium Villages* in Kenya come to the school and give us advice in our economic development efforts. He left our reception just moments before his lecture began to a packed theatre of 900. Sachs presented a bleak assessment of the earth today but with an inspirational and strong belief that we can still effect change that will lead to a future of peace and prosperity for all. *Read more about the Millenium Promise
Letter Update 'from the field' - Iain Allan April 2, 2008. Last Friday I was driving from my camp in Tsavo to Malindi with six clients, and I pulled into Timboni School around 3.00pm. Before I drove into the entrance, out of the corner of my eye I saw a little girl about 8 years old leave the classroom and run cross the playground towards the windmill. She picked up a tin mug, which hung by its handle from a branch twig, filled it up from the water which spilled from the pipe, drank its contents, then ran back to the classroom. It was a small thing, completely natural, not done for my benefit, and it made me realise more than any other thing I've seen at Timboni the importance of what we have all managed to provide there.
The recent troubles in Kenya have interfered only slightly with our Timboni School project. The finishing touches, which will end Phase One (water development) were originally meant to take place in January. It was necessary to postpone until April. These finishing touches will be:
- Two large, plastic 12,000 gallon water tanks to relieve the water wastage that is, inevitably, currently taking place. The overflow will be piped into the tanks and the people will access the water from taps.
- Elephant deterrents in the form of carefully, selectively, placed concrete bricks in a radius of about 30 yards around the windmill structure. These are placed in a way that elephants cannot walk through them to reach the water. It is a simple, but effective system that is apparently well-proven in the country.
- A pipe that will link the windmill to a cattle trough about 150 yards away from the bore hole. Cattle are an important part of the peoples' livelihood, and therefore should be included within the water scheme.
All of this work can be contracted out to the same company that built the windmill. I have a meeting arranged for Thursday next week (April 10), and they have informed me that this work can be completed by the end of April. I don't know yet how much these finishing touches will cost.
Meanwhile, the windmill is performing beautifully. Water is abundant but the spillage is considerable. At this time no attempts have been made to grow crops with the wasted water, which is a reflection on the teacher quality that currently exists at the school. They are seriously limited and this only enforces my opinion that Phase Two of the project should focus on the building of good teachers' accommodation (two or three houses). Only then can we attract better quality teachers into this remote area.
The salary system that was worked out on December 14 for the people involved in working the windmill is up to date (US$50.00 per month). This amount includes the salaries for two men who are working the windmill, and two women who are taking the money for water. Julius Odhiambo, who works with me, has checked the accounts and he was quite impressed by the work of these two women. However, they are not receiving enough income from the sold water to meet their monthly salaries, and the price of water will have to be raised accordingly. I'm determined that Timboni must be self-sufficient.
I believe it is worthy of note that up to this point we have received no government/political interference in our project. Not one cent of our donor funds has been spent on bribes etc. Donors have my word that this will never happen.
I think I've covered everything, but if you need more information from me please don't hesitate to let me know.
Thanks everyone.
Iain
Water Flows at Timboni Feeder School December 2007. On December 12, a gentle breeze turned the blades of the windmill, and water flowed at the Timboni Feeder School. By 11:00 a.m., a crowd of several hundred children and adults from the Giriama community had gathered to celebrate the availability of water at the school, which, until now, had been 4 kilometers away from a water source. The installation of the pump and 40-foot windmill had just been completed the previous day, and the towering new structure with water pouring from its pipe was a wonder. Whenever the wind started up, children ran across the schoolyard to watch the water rush out of the pipe. Women and children filled their yellow 5-liter jugs, taking time in between to fill tin cups to overflowing and drink down the cool fresh water. The throng around the water never dissipated. When the breeze died down and the water stopped flowing, everyone just waited patiently until the wind picked up and water started running again.
Three board members from Friends of Timboni Feeder School joined the enthusiastic community for the grand opening celebration. Iain Allan, founder and managing director of the Tropical-Ice adventure safari company, brought his 16-year-old son, Duncan. Rebecca Shearin and Regina Faustine traveled from San Francisco to attend. Julius Odhiambo of Tropical-Ice helped organize and facilitate the event.
The day’s events began with a meeting held under a shady tree with Friends of Timboni and those community members responsible for overseeing the school and the well. Discussion topics included safety for the children, the assurance of free water for the school, the appropriate charge for water bought by community members, compensation for the two men and two women who will manage the well operations and money, installation of water tanks, prevention of intruding elephants, and providing water for the cattle and goats.
After the meeting, students from the school performed high-energy songs and dances of the Giriama in addition to special songs they composed to express their gratitude for the well. Their performances were followed by various dances by the women and men of the community, dressed in colorful traditional and non-traditional clothing. Part of the entertainment for the crowd was watching Iain, Duncan, Rebecca and Regina join in!
The show was followed by distribution of balloons, frisbees, and a giant silk parachute. Friends of Timboni also brought soda for the children and palm wine for the adults. Four goats were roasted for a feast and special dishes were served: goat meat, goat liver cooked with tomato, tomato and onion salad, and ugali, a cornmeal mash.
View a short video of the celebration highlights (1.84MB WMV)
Less than a year prior to water flowing at the Timboni school, a group of Iain’s safari clients had formed Friends of Timboni Feeder School. The goal of the nonprofit was to raise money to build a well and realize Iain’s vision to help lift the school and the community out of extreme poverty. Thanks to several hundred generous donors, enough money was raised to drill a borehole in September, followed by the pump and windmill installation in December.
Moving forward, Friends of Timboni will tackle a few projects requiring immediate attention as revealed during the meeting with community members. This winter, holding tanks will be installed so the windmill can be ‘turned off’ when the tanks are full. The area around the windmill and tanks will be paved in a particular fashion to prevent elephants from walking on the surface. (Elephants can smell fresh water from five miles away and could potentially cause great damage trying to get water during the dry season.) Friends of Timboni will also purchase a pipe that will lead to a trough where the Giriama community’s cattle and goats can drink.
After the community gains some experience managing the well, Friends of Timboni will consider other projects to improve the school, including teacher housing (to draw more highly qualified teachers), environmentally friendly toilets (currently there are no toilets for the children), gutters to catch rainwater, and school furniture.
Well is Drilled and Capped September 2007. A 500-foot-deep well was drilled at the Timboni Feeder School the third week of September, an exciting first step in the project to bring water to the small school in rural eastern Kenya.
Groundwater Survey (E.A.) Ltd., who is handling the drilling management on the project, “could not have been more pleased with their results,” said Iain Allan, owner of Tropical Ice safari company and whose dream it was to bring water to this dry, impoverished school. Allan is also a founding member of the nonprofit Friends of Timboni Feeder School, formed by a group of his safari clients, which raised the funds to drill the well. The well is expected to be able to produce 25,000 liters of water per hour, significantly more than originally projected. The well has been capped, and the project is now awaiting a windmill to power the pump. Because the drilling company found more water than expected, a larger windmill than planned had to be ordered. This windmill, coming from South Africa, will take several months to arrive. Allan expects the windmill and pump system will be installed in December. Although the new windmill is more expensive than anticipated, Friends of Timboni Feeder School will be able to cover the costs with funds it has already raised.
Allan and Groundwater are working with the equipment suppliers to make sure all aspects of the project are being addressed, including making sure that water will not overflow the well. “Now how’s this for a unique problem,” Allan says. “If the water is allowed to overflow, and create even relatively small puddles on the ground, it will attract elephants very quickly. They can smell fresh water five miles away. It takes one elephant about two minutes to totally devastate an entire windmill and well.” The equipment that has been purchased will prevent water overflow.
Once the windmill is installed, and the project is complete, two members of the community (chosen by a committee of elders) will be taught by Groundwater how to operate and upkeep the well.
After the well and pump are running smoothly, Friends of Timboni Feeder School will work with Allan to further improve the school. These improvements will likely include hygienic toilets, school furniture, uniforms, and other basics.
Your donations are very much appreciated. Friends of Timboni Feeder School operates on an all-volunteer staff, so all donations go to Timboni School projects.
Read more on the history of Iain Allan's involvement with the Timboni Feeder School.
Fundraiser at Conn Creek Winery May 2007. On Saturday, May 5, over one hundred supporters gathered at Conn Creek Winery in Napa, California, to turn “Wine into Water." The lush hillsides of Napa stand in stark contrast to the arid bush
of the Timboni Feeder School in Tsavo, Kenya, but on this day the two worlds were brought together by the generosity of
those in attendance.Former Tropical Ice clients, friends and family of the Safari Sisters, and many who simply wanted to help, filled the courtyard with enthusiasm. The response was overwhelming; ticket purchases, auction revenue and general donations that day, combined with previous donations, brought Friends of Timboni Feeder School coffers to over 90,000 dollars.
Friends of Timboni Feeder School and the Safari Sisters would like to thank everyone who attended this event, donated goods and services, and continues to support this project. Friends of Timboni Feeder School would especially like to thank Lisa Seran, founder, and leading force behind "Wine into Water."
