Providing a Sustainable Water Source for Kimuka

About Us:

Engineers Without Borders - Northwestern (EWB - NU) empowers communities to meet their basic needs through engineering projects. Our chapter focuses on STEM education and philanthropy efforts on campus and in the Chicagoland area. Our chapter was founded in spring of 2013, but has quickly grown to be one of the most active clubs at Northwestern, with consistent membership of over thirty students.

EWB - NU is currently paired with Kimuka, a community 45 km outside of Nairobi, Kenya. Kimuka is a traditional Maasai community, yet, due to its proximity to Nairobi, is becoming increasingly modernized. Issues that pervade the community such as poor sanitation, disease, and lack of time investment in education can be combated by a clean, accessible source of water.

Project Overview:

EWB - NU first visited the community during spring of 2014 to meet with community leaders and assess existing access to water. Our team of students and professional engineers traveling with us learned that surface “dams”, natural or manmade depressions in the ground, were the most common source of drinking water. However, this standing water was not treated, used by the community’s cattle, and found to be highly contaminated. We also learned of a borewell at the church in the community during this trip. This well at the center of the community sustainably served many residents; however, the distribution system it served was inadequate. Our team returned to Kimuka during spring of 2015 on an implementation trip to create a more robust distribution line that serves a public tapstand.

With the new pipeline and community water access point in place, EWB - NU intends to return to Kimuka during winter of 2015 to assess the feasibility of creating a distribution system directly to individual homesteads. The current solution reduces walking distances for many residents, but easier access to clean water will increase its use tremendously. With your help, we plan to implement this solution during summer 2015 and bring clean water to the greater Kimuka community. Traveling to this area allows us an opportunity to truly apply our engineering education and to engage across cultures in a unique problem solving opportunity. For the community, the trip brings us one step closer to a healthier, more educated Kimuka. But we need your help to make this trip a reality!

How You Can Help:

Any donation, of any amount, can help us make this trip a reality. With your help, we can bring clean water to the greater Kimuka community. 

While donations are essential to ensuring the success of the project, even sharing our project and our message can help. Thank you!