What we do
From vision to action: At Work in Bozeman and Kenya.
While studying and working in Bozeman, we spend most of the year planning and fundraising for the next project phase and trip to Kenya. Outreach in our own community of Bozeman keeps us locally engaged and deepens our partnership with the Kenyan communities.
The first trip by EWB at MSU consisted of two students sent to Kenya in December 2004. They traveled to Khwisero, a division in the Butere/Mumias district of Western Kenya. Located on the northeast bank of Lake Victoria, the region is equatorial; temperatures remain between 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit all year long. Although Khwisero has a population density of 614 people per square kilometer (similar to residential Bozeman), the region is rural because agriculture dictates the economy and lifestyle.
Tucker Stevens and Heather Mullins conducted a technical site assessment of the schools in the Shirali and Munyanza (moon-yahn-za) schools. Importantly, Tucker and Heather also established our partnership in person. The cross-cultural collaboration so central to this development work hinges on our community interaction. Back in Bozeman, members analyzed the data and planned the types of wells and latrines to be built at Shirali.
In March of 2006, three members oversaw the drilling of a well and installation of a hand pump at Shirali School and surveyed the grounds of Munyanza School. They also gathered further information necessary for the Munyanza and Shirali School's sanitation improvements and drinking water. During December and January 2006-07, eight members returned to Munyanza to drill a well and install the composting latrine.
This summer, in August 2008, we will return to Khwisero to drill three more wells, construct another latrine, and assess the success of our previous work.