Project Plan

Agnes at the 1st Solace Well funded by Joy Jinx and her “Swamp Gravy Foundation”. This property was passed on from Grandfather to Grandson, the grandson being Maluki Ndetei. Maluki, Agnes’ eldest child, donated the 10-acre property to Solace Self Help Group so this well could be a public well site.

What:

Build wells and plant trees in the drought stricken region of Kibwezi, Kenya, Africa

Costs:

It costs about $4,000 to survey, dig, build a cover, buy and install a pump and maintain one well. Education about trees, nurturing the seedlings and maintaining the tree until it matures will cost $20 a tree.

Why:

People in this sub poverty area of the world make less than $1 a day. To add to their struggle, they are suffering from a drought. They live over an aquifer (a collection of water under the ground) and can’t afford to get to it.

  • In order to bring balance back to the environment.
  • To free school age children, especially girls, from the task of walking up to 3 miles a day to draw water for their families and allow them to attend school.
  • To lessen poverty by freeing women of the daily chore of retrieving water so they might spend their time finding other ways to economically support themselves and their families.
  • By educating women in other means of self support
  • The tree planting is meant to balance the environment as the wells are dug. The planting of mango, guava and acacia trees will also bring food and an income to the families once the trees mature and bear fruit.
  • The Wells of Love and Hope project address 7 out of 8 of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG)

“If one part of the world is suffering and out of balance, then the whole world is suffering and out of balance and we need to fix it,” stated 8-year-old Justin.

The Children of Kibwezi

Where:

The Kibwezi region of Kenya, Africa. Wells will be dug first at designated School sites, to bring a clean water supply to the students and the local villages around the schools. We have 5 schools presently designated for wells and offer education for tree planting in all areas of Kibwezi where Agnes lives.

ALL THE ACTIVITIES IN KENYA HAVE BEEN DONE IN COOPERATION WITH AND THROUGH THE COORDINATING EFFORT OF HONORABLE AGNES NDETEI.

ALL FUTURE PARTS OF THIS PROGRAM TO BE CARRIED OUT IN KENYA WILL BE DONE BY HON. AGNES NDETEI AND HER SOLACE SELF HELP GROUP UNTIL SOLACE BECOMES SELF SUSTAINING.

Present State of the Project:

$6,000 was raised by the end of the school term in June 2008.

Since Ms. Kabot’s return from Kenya 8/24/08:

  • $2,000 was sent to Agnes in Kibwezi to start the survey and digging, leaving $4,000.
  • Our 1st Well, at the Utini Primary School, has been surveyed and designated.
  • Digging should commence this week (10/13/08). Kenya is going into it’s rainy season so some activity may be delayed.
  • Ms. Kabot has shown a 3-minute movie of the well digging, tree planting and her trip to the Utini Primary School to the residents of Willow Towers a local New Rochelle, assisted living facility and the parents of Ward School and have received a very positive response from both.
  • One Parent raised $1,000 at his job to support his son’s school.
  • Notice of our progress and the addition of Seedlings for Sustainability, our joint tree planting project, has been sent out with the Forward, our school news letter.

Local Kenyan Plan:

Employment is so low that is important to bring some means of work into the region. It is important for the local people to be an integral part of the wells project.

  • Well digging is to be done by local men and boys. It costs about $50 a foot to dig a well. The cost of each well varies upon the soil density and the depth of the water table. (Ex. One well hit water at 28ft, another took 45 feet of digging to find water.)
  • Women will be employed to make bricks out of the ground raised up from the wells space.
  • Women will use the bricks to build the protective structure around the well.
  • People are being educated about the environmental connection between trees and water.
  • Children are being taught how to grow trees and nurture them to a mature state so they can be replanted. Children are given a seedling that they “own” for which they are responsible care for and to protect.
  • Children make their own schedules to take turns watering the seeding trees at the school sites.

By her visit to Kenya, 8/8/08-8/24/08, Ms. Kabot:

Irene with the children of Utini Primary School

  • Has validated the living conditions of the people who are suffering from the affects of the drought and is raising awareness of this situation with a greater sense of reality.
  • Has evaluated some of the future requirements that we might be able to address as part of our Wells of Love and Hope endeavor.
  • Has established a connection between the children and people of Kenya and us.
  • Is sharing the videos of the people and the area of Kibwezi we are servicing by our Ward School Project Peace: Wells of Love and Hope and will further educate our selves and others with a short documentary.
  • Will share a more intimate view of the lives of the Kibwezi children by using the pictures they will send back to us from the 3 video cameras and 6 disposable still cameras she left with them there.
  • Has made a direct connection with the teachers at Utini to establish our Seedlings for Sustainability, tree growing and planting program, for the 2008-09 school year.
  • Has set the foundation for our International Pen Pals program and find out the cost and requirements for them to write back and forth to us.
  • Has establish a working relationship with the people and teachers of Kibwezi.
  • Taught a conflict resolution seminar to 16 local women with Honorable Agnes Ndetei.

Future plans:

  • Ms. Kabot would is doing more public speaking and video presentations about the project (see schedule)
  • Online presentation of www.wellsofloveandhope.org to be available 10/14/08
  • Pay pal donations accepted
  • Wells of Love and Hope T- Shirts and caps to be available
  • A non-profit status application for Wells of Love and Hope
  • WL&H would like to expand into supporting the primary and advanced education of students who require assistance. Especially orphaned Kenyan students.
  • WL&H would like to support Agnes in the education of local Kibwezi women to assist them in becoming more economically self sustaining.
  • Individual sponsoring of local Kibwezi women and children

Sponsorship by Local Retailers:

  • Arbonne Health and Beauty products representative, Cidalia Vincetore, a 4th grade teacher at Ward School, is donating all net profits to Wells project when products are bought by wells supporters.

Schedule of Wells of Love and Hope presentations by Ms. Kabot:

  • The AAUW Westchester Branch meeting – Nov. 5th 10AM – The American Association of University Women- support gender equity in education.
  • At the Chapel Hill Condominium Association in Peekskill NY – Peekskill local residents support education for all and are compassionate for the underprivileged.

(Last updated: 10/13/08)