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10/16/2007: "A Real Water Shortage Is Known By Some"

Friday Harbor residents have launched a campaign to provide clean water for Remote Village. An effort is underway for Friday Harbor to assist another waterfront fishing town in the world that is less fortunate than ours.

As a follow-on to their work in Kunya Village this year, Joanruth Baumann and Dick Coffey are attempting to help the community solve an enormous health problem - the lack of any clean drinking water.

The water is heavily contaminated with sewage, cholera, typhoid and parasites. Half of the population affected is children.

This area of southwestern Kenya, on the shores of Lake Victoria, has received little aid or assistance from outside, even though area residents have the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world - about 40%. For this community of 5,000 people, the only water available needs to be scooped from the lake in buckets and carried miles home each day.

Joanruth, Dick and a community group are planning an African evening and fundraiser November 9th at the Mullis Center in hopes of raising the $40,000 required to install the water purification and distribution system. For this event, they are bringing community educator Daniel Rateng, from the Kunya village organization “Mama na Dada”. This will be Daniel’s first visit outside Kenya.

This community is a prime candidate for assistance for three reasons:

• The problem is clear, deadly and effects everyone
• There is no significant outside help in this village so the villagers are working very hard to help themselves.
• The community is well organized and is able to implement the project effectively

During November, Daniel will be speaking at schools and various organizations in our community. For questions about Daniel’s visit or the water purification project. The fund raising benefit is being run through Village Volunteers in Seattle, run by former Friday Harborite Shana Greene and it will carry tax-exempt status for all donations. For more information, call Joanruth and Dick at 378-6362.