A sand dam a week

Quest volunteers in Kenya, working alongside the Africa Sand Dam Foundation and Excellent, have completed work on a fantastic four dams, no easy feat in the baking heat.

What is a sand dam? A sand dam is a reinforced concrete wall built across a dry riverbed, which when it rains, forces some water underground, filtering it clean, protecting from mosquitoes and snails, and preventing evaporation. A simple piece of engineering that will alter the lives of the communities around it forever.

With three different Self Help Groups in Makueni District, the thirteen-strong team truly earned the respect of the Kenyan communities through their tireless hard work and good cheer...they even managed to break the Quest cement-mixing record by mixing 237 50kg bags in one day...seriously tough.

In the middle of the drought currently affecting East Africa, the Water Relief work we support in Kenya is all too necessary.  In the words of 2011 volunteer Heather McCollin, "Seeing the results and the changes in the environment around sand dams that were only one or two years old was amazing. Imagine what a difference the dams will make in future years!" 

Help support Water Relief in Kenya.