Before the new well and water system were completed in November in the community of Miton in the Rift Valley of Turkana, Kenya, people were moving away, diarrhea was rampant and the children were too sick to come to school. People spent most of every day walking five to 10 kilometers to the closest well with their animals and water jugs.

Things are very different now, and the Maasai community at Miton recently invited CMF missionaries Gene and Melba Morden to return to Miton to see the new system.

“The 11-person water committee, the area chief and other community members met us at the water kiosk (distribution point),” said Gene Morden, who has been working to install clean water and irrigation systems in Kenya since 1995. “We have never felt more appreciated than we did that day. ‘Miton’ means ‘desolate place with no trees or water,’ but thank God, that is no longer the case.”

The new water system was a joint project between CMF donors and the community.

“CMF dug the well and installed the pump, but the community installed the piping (700 meters), the 10,000 liter storage tank, the water kiosk for the people and the 100-foot water trough for their animals,” said Gene.

The changes in Miton since the Gospel has been shared and the water system installed have been enormous, according to Gene.

“When people began to accept the gospel and begin praying to God, seasonal rains have come, and they now have shrubs and trees,” he said. “People have returned to the community, school enrollment is up and absenteeism has nearly been eliminated, and illness has been drastically reduced. The most anyone walks now for water is three kilometers, and most walk less than a kilometer.”

The Turkana water team dug 31 wells in 2014 and 25 of them were successful.

“Praise God that at least 10,000 more people now have access to safe water, just like you and me,” said Gene. “Please pray for supporters for 30 new wells in 2015.”

If you’d like to help provide clean water through a solar-powered irrigation system for a Turkana community, go here. If you’d like to help provide a hand pump and well for community go here.