Meshenani

​Meshenani is an area located near the northwest corner of the Amboseli National Park. It is home to approximately 1,600 people, who are spread out over a relatively large area. There is a school close to the park that almost 300 kids attend, and a total of about 1,000 people live nearby. Further from the park is a group of Bomas, Kenyans who live a more rural lifestyle, of about 600. With such a great need for water it was clear to us that a borehole well would be necessary, so in the summer of 2008 we drilled Meshenani’s first well.
Tragically, the well yielded no water. Despite the bad fortune, the community still needed water, so we returned and drilled again. This time we hit water, and a lot of it: almost double the typical yield of a borehole well. However the news was not all good, the groundwater was and still is incredibly saline, far too salty to drink. It was heartbreaking for both WILK and the villagers to have two wells, neither of which was capable of providing potable water.
Fortunately, the following year we were able to connect pipeline from the school to a well located at the nearby Meshenani Gate, so the childen could have safe water. That pipeline has since been expanded out to the rural Bomas community, so now all 1,600 villagers have access to water.