Entanda Widows and Orphanage
The Entanda widows and orphanage is a site we were introduced to via HEART (Health Education Africa Resource Team). HEART funded and installed a shallow well and greenhouse here in Entanda several years ago as part of their initiative to provide communities with the necessary means to take care of the large number of orphans that exist due to the AIDS epidemic. Under ideal conditions, the tomatoes grown in the greenhouse can fetch enough money to provide children with school supplies and uniforms which are mandatory for attendance in the Kenyan public school system. They also provide an important source of nutrition, which is key to successfully living with HIV, an illness up to 10% of Kenyan orphans live with. In 2013, the Entanda widows were able to make 52,000 schillings (around 600 USD) from this greenhouse, which was sufficient to cover the aforementioned fees for all 163 orphans that are looked after in this community. However, the physical toll of fetching and hauling the 2,400 liters of water this greenhouse needs per day is effecting the well being of the women, many of whom suffer from HIV themselves. Before our pump was installed, it took four women working six hours each per day to irrigate the greenhouse. This kind of effort simply was not sustainable in the long run. To help ease the labor, we installed one solar powered submersible Majipump in the well, and one a solar powered transfer Majipump to push water from a tank located near the well to the storage tank that feeds the greenhouse. All indications so far suggest that these efforts have significantly improved the quality of life for both the widows and orphans of Entanda.