Middleton Rotary Club wins Rain Catchment grant

The rocky outcrop with the low wall around it to collect water

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The Rotary Club of Middleton have played a huge part in providing water to over 2,000 people in Tharaka, Kenya, as part of a Rain Catchment Project.

The Rotary Club’s application, which was the first New Global Grant to be approved, went through seamlessly and the project was able to get underway and change the lives of the Kenyan community.

The Tharaka project itself is expected to have cost around £22,000.

Two thirds of the full sum has come from Rotary funding but the remainder, almost £7,000, has been found with the help of Middleton Rotary Club.

The coordinator of the projects, John Brooker from Middleton Rotary Club, explained: “When the rains come, the tanks get filled.

“An elected committee for each area decides how and when people can collect the water, so they aren’t helping themselves. Most people will be given 30/40 litres of fresh clean water every few days.

“Young women and children are no longer spending 8 hours searching for water that is dirty. The other benefit of course is that with the health of the community improved and children are now able to attend school more regularly and successfully, which means achievements in the area have risen as well.”

The Tharaka Rain Catchment project is currently under construction with the team installing the container that can hold 225,000 litres of water. It sits partly underground and the weight of the water compresses the pipe and forces it to a ‘kiosk’, where those in need can easily access clean water.