Because of people like you who have chosen to give generously, a generational story of hardship across rural Kenya is being rewritten one precious life at a time.
Cross Catholic Outreach has been partnering with Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services to bring clean water to the Kenyan dioceses of Kitui, Malindi and Machakos and the Archdiocese of Mombasa. Together, we set out to build 45 solar-powered water points and deliver
Because of people like you who have chosen to give generously, a generational story of hardship across rural Kenya is being rewritten one precious life at a time.
Cross Catholic Outreach has been partnering with Good Samaritan Water Sanitation Services to bring clean water to the Kenyan dioceses of Kitui, Malindi and Machakos and the Archdiocese of Mombasa. Together, we set out to build 45 solar-powered water points and deliver water to more than 380,000 people. So far, roughly half of those water points are already complete and flowing. Each one has a borehole, a solar pump and a community kiosk managed and cared for by the villagers who use it every day.
In Kamuwongo, a small farming community in the Diocese of Kitui, clean water changed the course of Joyce’s life. She had spent countless mornings waiting in a long line at the river, only to carry home water contaminated by the animals that drank from it alongside her. Joyce has always loved to garden, yet nothing would grow, a fact she also attributed to the insufficient, dirty water she used.
Today, a solar-powered water point stands within her parish church compound. Families are planting freely and with great success this time. Joyce, who now serves as secretary of the local water committee, opens the tap each morning and waters the church grounds. Neighbors who once spent every spare hour hauling water now have more time for one another and for God. On Saturdays, the Catholic women gather to clean the church, and on Sundays, they are able to socialize after Mass instead of hurrying off to start their long search for water. “Water has increased our faith in God, that anything can happen with God,” Joyce said.
The same joy is unfolding at the parish school in Kanyangi. Until recently, water there was so scarce and costly that the school fell behind on its bills and had its supply cut off. To help the students and staff, the compassionate local priest paid to have water trucked in from other parts of Kenya. Domitila, a mother of five who serves as the school’s matron, remembers rationing every small cup of water she had. Now, with a steady supply flowing, the children can stay clean, and because the school spends so much less on water, it can finally afford better student lunches, even adding an extra day of meat and more bread.
For the students, the difference is written on their faces. Shantel, who wants to become a doctor when she grows up, remembers when the water made her and her classmates so sick that they were visiting the hospital almost every day. Now, they are healthy and full of energy to learn. “I feel happy. I have strength and energy,” she said. “Water means life, and it’s something that gives strength and makes you energetic.”
The blessing of fresh water even reaches the local marketplace. In Ikutha, Josphat, a fish seller, once paid vendors for water he could not trust. Now he draws cleaner, safer water from the parish borehole at a fraction of the cost.
Clean water restores a family’s health and time and upholds their God-given dignity as beloved sons and daughters of the Lord. As Joyce is quick to remind us, the credit belongs to God, who works such wonders through the open hands of his people.
Together, we are bringing the mercy of Christ and the gift of clean water to the families of rural Kenya. Thank you for sharing Christ’s mercy!
Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2027, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.
Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2027, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.
