Chalice Sponsor Site in Kenya Overjoyed with Gift of Water

There is still work to be completed and funds still needed, but Chalice’s sub-sponsor site in Kangeta, Kenya run by the Good Shepherd Sisters is happy to report that water is flowing at Rikiau Primary School. The site had requested support for a community project to entail construction of a borehole (deep well) that would supply water to Rikiau Primary School, parents of the children at the school, and the larger community.

Adults and children are overjoyed; they’ve experienced God’s presence and miracle in the local abandoned village in the outskirts of Meru. “God is present in every situation of life. Thank you for thinking about us and for your empathy,” one of the men said.

Kangeta, and the surrounding area, is very dry and classified as semi-arid. The lack of rain in the area, exacerbated by the current drought in East Africa, presents many problems for the efforts of the site. Many children attending Rikiau Primary School are experiencing the impact of drought on a daily basis. Many have to walk 10-20 km per day to collect water, leaving little energy to focus on school work, or the time to attend class at all. Chalice began a feeding program at the school and supported a school farm, but the lack of water has forced the programs to be discontinued. This critical shortage of water and nutrition inevitably leads to children dropping out of school and/or children not graduating classes due to poor academic performance.

The borehole will save the families many hours per day by reducing the distance to walk for water, as well as provide both the school and the neighboring families the water to irrigate their kitchen gardens and grow their own sustainable food supplies. With a sustainable supply of homegrown food, the school feeding program will resume and the children will receive a healthy meal daily.

The Good Shepherd Sisters believe that every child with an education is a child with a future. It is their hope that each child educated through Chalice's Catholic child sponsorship programs will become self-reliant members of society, going forth with the dignity and self-confidence knowledge brings. When you choose to sponsor a child you are partnering with the Sisters and Chalice to make a difference in the world.