COMMUNITY WATER PROJECT

A lack of clean, accessible water is one of the most pressing issues in Maasailand. The MERC Community Water Project works to bring safe and adequate water supplies to communities who currently live 10-15 kilometers from the nearest water source.

Since the late 1980s, MERC has undertaken over a dozen water projects throughout Maasailand—from Amboseli to Samburu– in collaboration with churches, civil society organizations and others. We find no shortage of vision and effort in communities across Maasailand, who have been trying to improve the educational opportunities of their children for many years and need only committed partners to succeed.

For the past 8 years, MERC’s water projects have been a product of a very successful collaboration with our good friends in Rotary clubs, [link to Partners page] especially in Arizona, and Rotary International, as the Rotary community shares with MERC a commitment to water accessibility. These projects are envisioned and directed by the local community and succeed because they model collaboration. They reflect how vital water is to all aspects of Maasai social, political, economic, spiritual and cultural survival, and for that reason water projects will continue to be a MERC priority until the need no longer exists.