The project

Masai Mara National Park is located in the Narok region, in southern Kenya, on the border with Tanzania.

Before the rangers distribute themselves to the eight outposts in the protected area, they equip themselves with drinking water from water gallons and/or plastic bottles. Especially the bottles pose a problem, because of course no garbage is allowed to be left behind. For this reason, the plastic bottles are rather unsuitable as a source of drinking water, especially since they are not sufficient for the duration of the stay in the park. For this reason, people often resort to river water, which is contaminated with germs and polluted. In this case, diseases often occur among the employees of the national park, and their failures have serious consequences.

The protection of the animals from potential poachers, compliance with park rules during safari tours, prevention of off-road driving or harassment of the animals, are among their main tasks. They also control the infrastructure and carry out night patrols. The AQQAbags therefore make an immense contribution, as the rangers have less planning work, can take water from any location and have a mobile treatment facility at their disposal. The water can be drunk without health concerns, and absenteeism due to illness is reduced, which in turn reduces the workload of all employees.

Project implementation

The contact to the community was established through a longtime acquaintance of WeWater. The Masai Mara is administered by the county and does not belong to the central Kenya Wildlife Service, which is why there is also a personal and direct cooperation. Accordingly, a community project and the further development of the conservation systems could be supported. The AQQAbags were transferred personally and the rangers were trained in their use.

Further projects in collaboration with the community are already being planned, but have been interrupted for the time being due to the spread of Covid-19.

The work of the rangers as well as the expenses for maintenance, infrastructure, equipment and vehicles are mainly financed by the park entrance fees, since the communal subsidies are very low. The first subproject is completed, but we want to continue to support the community and the protection of the national park, which is why every donation counts. This way WeWater can continue to participate in the further development of the community.

Donations

WeWater gUG
Bank für Sozialwirtschaft
IBAN: DE90 3702 0500 0001 6026 01
BIC-/SWIFT: BFSWDE33XXX

Please enter your first and last name and the purpose of your donation (Masai Mara Kenya).

Sustainability

The sustainability of our work in this project is ensured by three points:

1. Training (handling of the filters and hygiene)
2. Protection of the filters
3. Long-term project monitoring

The people are trained on site in the handling of the AQQAbags and are made familiar with the technology. Furthermore, the people are trained on the subject of water hygiene. This should prevent further contamination of the water sources. In the communities we have found voluntary responsible persons who take care of the monitoring and securing of the filter technology. At the same time they are the contact persons for the WeWater team in Kenya in case of problems.