At location after location, we started drilling hopefully.  Inch by inch, we advanced the auger — one meter down, one and a half meters down, two meters down — only to have our efforts grind to a halt as we encountered layers of impenetrable volcanic rock.  As the faces of the non-locals in our group grew long with frustration, our Maasai hosts continued to laugh and sing as they strained to turn the augers into the stiff soil only to be rebuffed yet again.  What those of us — who had traveled thousands of miles to this water-strapped landscape in southern Kenya — saw as a series of failures that morning, our local friends saw for what it truly was: opportunity.

The 15,000 Maasai, who call the Kuku Group Ranch home, are facing a monumental water supply crisis.  The ranch is situated between the Kilimanjaro massif to the south in Tanzania and the southwestern slope of the Chyulu Hills, Hemingway’s “Green Hills of Africa,” to the north.  In the past, this landscape provided ample water for the Maasai population and its traditional pastoral lifestyle; however, rapid population growth in the local area and the urban centers of Nairobi and Mombasa, climate change, and the conversion of large areas of land from pastoral or undeveloped use to agriculture in recent years have led to a situation where the regional demand for water outstrips supply by nearly 25%.  This shortage has resulted in increased reliance on marginal sources and, consequently, increased rates of waterborne disease.  The Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT), which administers conservation areas throughout the ranch, reached out to 91Ӱ�� for support following such an outbreak in 2012 that claimed the lives of multiple children.

A key finding of 91Ӱ��’s initial visit in 2012 was that potable water sources, which often times are nothing more than pits dug by hand until the water table is reached, needed to be isolated from livestock and wildlife.  Our trip, an early example of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) working with corporate partners, sought to act on this finding by installing small-diameter wells using hand-operated equipment and locally sourced materials.  91Ӱ�� provided drilling equipment, training and materials for two wells to a group of Maasai community members identified by the MWCT.  Our drill crew provided what would be the most important requirements for the success of our pilot project: motivation, innovation, and local knowledge.

Our Maasai friends worked tirelessly and joyfully and were able to read the landscape for clues indicating a shallow water table such as the presence of water-loving Yellow Fever Acacia trees.  When our last section of well-casing snapped in half, and my colleagues and I scratched our heads as to how to repair it, the Maasai kindled a small fire and heated and perfectly flared a bell end in the pipe.  The Maasai community is no stranger to foreign aid.  The ranch is pocked with wells installed by non-governmental organizations that have gone dry or are constructed with pumps that are broken and cannot be repaired with local parts or require expensive diesel fuel to operate.  Where our project differed from many that came before was that we sought not to provide a finished product, but rather to provide equipment and the skills necessary to use it.  As our truck bounced north towards camp with the setting sun casting long shadows on the Chyulus on the evening of February 11, we grinned ear-to-ear having witnessed that afternoon the successful installation of the second microwell, but more importantly, a newly empowered community eager for the opportunity to face its challenges.

Matt Scharf, PE, is an environmental engineer who specializes in the assessment and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater.  His other interests include water resources management, conservation, sustainable agriculture, backpacking and mountain biking.
LinkedIn:

The post Empowering Kenya’s Maasai tribe to address water shortages appeared first on Blog.

When I heard that I had been selected for the Mandela Washington Young African Leaders Initiative and would be at the Presidential Precinct, I was excited. It couldn’t have come at a better time as I was just about to kick-start a project dear to my heart and needed time to concentrate on it and also have experts guide me.

It had been a busy year for me. Working six days a week as the editor of Sunday Punch, Nigeria’s most widely circulated newspaper, six weeks in the United States of America sounded heavenly.

As I sat on my connecting flight to Virginia, I went through the faces of my classmates and the faculty that the Presidential Precinct had earlier sent to fellows. “I hope they are cool people,” I mused.

It turns out they were cool and so much more. Any time I’m asked to talk about my experiences, I feel they cannot be summarised in a few words. It’s almost impossible to compress the experiences of six institutions, lectures from over 100 teachers and adventures with 21 other fellows in a few lines. I could write a book about it.

During the fellowship, one of my “aha” moments was when I met Anne Ellis, vice president of global initiatives, at 91Ӱ��. The first time I saw Anne was at Montpelier when 91Ӱ�� Senior Vice President and Director of Global Program Management Timothy McManus was discussing development economics and infrastructure financing. Anne listened intensely and when any fellow asked her questions, she knew the person’s ‎background and history. She had spent time reading our biographies.

As the first female and youngest editor ‎of Punch Newspaper, which is over 40 years old, I’m always eager to learn from women who have broken barriers in their industries. Always offering encouraging words to the fellows, Anne epitomised the ideals of exemplary leadership that we were taught. While talking about why 91Ӱ�� was the major sponsor of the fellowship at the Presidential Precinct, she said the Fortune 500 company believed in Africa’s future leaders.

In class, Timothy left no doubt in our minds that 91Ӱ�� knows its business as he kept reeling out economic figures and projections about Nigeria and the countries of other fellows.

While Tim kept harping on the need for efficient infrastructural planning and the merits of public-private partnerships, he opened my eyes to the enormous possibilities in my country due to its size and population and the need to effectively plan for the future by putting the right infrastructure in place.

Joe Wambia, 91Ӱ�� managing director for finance, global programs and Africa, was, however, the first 91Ӱ�� executive we met. ‎He was with the fellows at the Presidential Precinct right from the beginning. Joe spoke about economics and trade from Asia to Africa.

As I write this, I can hear Joe’s voice in class saying: “This will be an interactive class. Everyone should be involved. ‎You are going to be teaching me.” I remember when he got us talking about “bottom-up and bottom-down” development styles and divided the class into two groups: pro-bottom down and pro-bottom up. At the end, we realised that there was no one answer to economic development.

At the centre of the sessions with 91Ӱ��’s executives was the topic of sustainability. According to Gary Lawrence, 91Ӱ�� vice president and chief sustainability officer, any project or endeavour that does not factor in all aspects of sustainability may not succeed. Giving practical examples, Gary said the cultural, economic, political, technological and environmental dimensions must not be ignored.

Practising what it preaches, 91Ӱ�� kept in touch with the fellows when we left Virginia and invited some of us to its Washington, D.C., office, where we met some members of the 91Ӱ�� family and shared our experiences with them.

I got home to receive messages from 91Ӱ�� executives telling me that they were a phone call or an email away should I need their help in any way.

There was no better way to demonstrate the company’s commitment to Africa, its future, its people and its leaders.

is the first female editor in the 40-plus-year history of , Nigeria’s most widely read newspaper. The recipient of 30 local and international awards, she is presently working on a leadership curriculum for primary and secondary schools in Nigeria.
LinkedIn:

The post YALI Reflections: Benefiting from the guidance of 91Ӱ�� experts appeared first on Blog.