Water is Life Kenya
Helping Kenyans Bloom Through Love and Water
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Water is Life Kenya started in 2007 with the sole intention of focusing on assisting communities in southern Kenya to have easy access to clean water. Over the past decade that objective has expanded. The consistent constant interaction Water is Life Kenya has had with the communities we have served, has birthed two new programs to help these families to live a life they have never thought possible. Now, in addition to our clean water projects we have a Livestock as a Business program and an income generator through our beaded handicraft division and are a member of the Fair Trade Federation.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Livestock as a Business
Water is Life Kenya’s (WILK) Livestock as Business (LAB) program has been building on indigenous knowledge since 2011, with enormous success. Successful livestock keeping increases family incomes. This allows them to pay for important things, like education and clean water. More reliable incomes make WILK’S water projects more sustainable.
Each year WILK trains and gives microloans to organized trading cooperatives. This combination of training and loans provides an opportunity for the immediate application of new skills. Improved incomes which come through better livestock management and drought resiliency provide positive reinforcement for long-term use of helpful practices like timely livestock disease prevention and control (e.g. vaccinations, deworming, control of ticks), performing simple livestock market surveys, timely buying and selling, budgeting and record keeping, grass conservation and management, among others.
WASH Program
Water is Life Kenya (WILK) began in 2007 with the intention of assisting indigenous Maasai communities in southern Kenya to have access to reliable, clean water. In this semiarid region, frequent droughts have dried up surface water supplies, meaning women and girls to walk between 6-8 hours a day in search of water. This limits progress and the ability for entire communities live flourishing lives.
WILK's clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) program has established 27 water projects since 2007, bringing clean water to over 80,000 people. As this region is near Mt. Kilimanjaro, the water table is very low. The result is that WILK's primary projects are deep borehole wells, ranging from 180-300 meters in depth. These projects require quality investments in hardware (the construction) and software (the communities who manage the projects). All these steps are accounted for and supported through our fundraising efforts.
Beaded Handicrafts
Jobs are hard to come by in Kenya, even more so for people with little education. People on our team like Mary and Rahel come to towns looking for opportunities to earn and find a life full of expenses: rent, food, children’s needs, then the calls from home in rural areas where siblings need school fees, harvests sometimes fail and people fall sick.
Earning income regularly means living a bit easier and having money to send home to areas where ladies carry water from shallow wells scratched out of the seasonal river beds.
Our prospering handicrafts business allows us to employ hardworking people including Mary and Rahel, who hope for a brighter future for themselves and their families.
In addition to the direct benefits of employment, profits from Water is Life Kenya’s bead business support our core mission of helping communities in southern rural Kenya solve their water problem by providing clean, sustainable water supply.
Where we work
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The goal of Water is Life Kenya is to reduce systems of poverty in communities in and around Amboseli National Park. For this to be possible, water must be available and accessible to every family. Once water is available, men and women must have the confidence and skills to pursue a variety of livelihood options to improve their well-being.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Water is Life Kenya uses two main strategies to reduce poverty in and around Amboseli National Park. First, we work with communities to initiate water projects that will sustainably provide for domestic and livestock usage. Secondly, we invest in groups of men and women by accelerating their business skills and providing capital to initiate cattle cooperatives. Earning income regularly means living a bit easier and having money to send home to areas where ladies carry water from shallow wells scratched out of the seasonal river beds.
Our prospering handicrafts business allows us to employ hardworking people including Mary and Rahel, who hope for a brighter future for themselves and their families.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Water is Life Kenya is particularly skilled at initiating water projects in the Amboseli area. Our knowledge of the terrain and hydro-geological formations improve the likelihood of success for the water projects. Our relationships with the community ensure projects will be maintained for years to come. It is our small implementation area and longevity that allow us to effectively pursue our goals.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
As of 2018, Water is Life Kenya has completed 18 projects in 15 villages, impacting over 50,000 people and their animals. The average time traveled to water has decreased from 4 miles to less than 1 mile. Our Livestock as a Business program has touched over 300 households and improved the income and business skills of each group member.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Water is Life Kenya
Board of directorsas of 06/15/2023
Dr. Francis Tannian
Professor Emeritus, University of Delaware
Term: 2007 -
Mark Manniso
Forte Creates
Kate Kowalski
Tropicana Brands Group
Francis Karani
University of Delaware
Thè Stephens
REX Company
Michael Warui
Fairview Estate Limited
Amy Plante
M&T Bank
Linda Stapleford
Marsha Walters
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data