“A Bridge larger than the Golden Gate Bridge” is what Daniel Ombasa Apepo calls the relationship between CUMC and the village of Ramoya. The Water Project serves the village, a rocky, hilly farming community near the town of Kisii, which lies between Lake Victoria and the Maasai Mara game reserve. The church provided $60,000 to purchase a pump, pipe and other materials but the planning, organizing and labor were all provided by the people of Ramoya.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, clans took turns providing up to 200 people, men and women, to work at tasks; carrying rocks, mixing cement, laying bricks and digging the necessary ten miles of trenches in the rocky, hilly terrain. All the work was done by hand. The community organized into subcommittees for the storage
tank, sump, and trenches. The Ramoya Water Project Committee, had the overall responsibility for planning and implementation.
BEFORE the Water Project, women and children had to walk a 2 to 3 miles downhill, stand in line to fill a 5-gallon can with water from the same river the cows used, then walk back uphill with the 40 pound can on their heads. The women spent hours fetching water and children missed school to help the mothers. Water-borne disease was commonplace in the village.
In 2005, five CUMC members camped at the site of the water storage tank, on the top of a hill in Ramoya to join in celebration and dedication of the Water Project. NOW – 60,000 and 70,000 people have clean, accessible spring water to drink and water their gardens and animals. S
ome women are able to sell products at market and children can go to school. The Ramoya Water Project is one of only three water projects in Kenya to have survived a major drought. It is now a model for other projects. And, to our great surprise and delight, a Methodist church was formed in Ramoya as a result of the project The people of Ramoya gave CUMC a cow.
In 2009, Daniel updated the congregation on the water project. This time he thanked us for more than the water. CUMC’s gift to the people of Ramoya was more than water. We gave Hope and Confidence and empowered the community to work to better their own lives, without our help.
THE RAMOYA SCHOLARSHIPS
School Fees are required to attend high school in Kenya since the government provides little or no help for education. There are over 100 Aids orphans in Ramoya. Some live with relatives, some live together in a group home provided by the community. CUMC provides school fees for two students every year. This is one way we keep our community to community connection alive. We also provide a stipend for a Methodist evangelist to make the trip from his village church to the new church in Ramoya.
