Lexi's Kenyan Project

Hi everyone,

As most of you are aware I have been supporting a large family in Kenya for the last 20 years since I first volunteered there in 2004. I have spent a great deal of time there over the years and worked hard to try and improve their quality of life. I will be travelling back in June 2025 and have some projects I am working on.

Doreen and her extended family live in Katolo, a very poor rural village about 45km out of Kisumu, Kenya. There are 19 family members with anywhere from 7+ people living on their compound in the village at any one time. They have two pit latrines (built over one pit) that is currently overflowing with human waste. The pit has lasted 15yrs due to the chemicals used. Unfortunately the sides of the pit collapsed and prevented the chemicals from working effectively and it has quickly become unusable. A significant concern is the flooding in the region and the hazard this poses so I am keen to have this pit covered ASAP. A new 10m pit has already been dug and this time it has been concreted all the way down to prevent collapse. The plan is to build a concrete outhouse over the pit with 3 cubicles - 2 toilets with seats and a washroom space in the 3rd cubicle. The structure will have a low privacy wall in the front, 3 doors, tin roof and ventilation shafts. I am confident this design can cater to such a large family safely and hygienically. This outhouse is going to cost $1200.

In addition to the toilet issue, their existing gutters leading to rainwater tanks are broken. There is no clean water source available in the village so these tanks are essential. They are no longer draining effectively to the tanks and valuable rainwater is pouring onto the walls and eroding the sides of the houses. The repairs to the gutters are going to cost $300.

With the other projects needed and the children's school fees I have found myself needing to ask for a little extra help. I realise $2000 is only a small amount but I feel hygiene and water collection are an essential and would be grateful for even the smallest donation. Please make sure I have your email so I can give you regular updates on the work (if you would like) and the final result.

Any additional money I can raise will go towards:

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting my Kenyan family, it means the world to me and to them xox

28/3/25

Thanks to everyone’s incredibly generous support we have now completed a beautiful new bathroom, repaired all the gutters, cleaned out the water tanks, painted the walls inside the house, tiled the dirt floors, bought a small fridge & even bought Doreen her first kettle We have started saving to fence the compound, paint the exterior walls and repair the mud huts I can’t adequately express my gratitude in words and can’t wait to share a video message with you when I’m over there in June. Thank you from the bottom of my heart