Rockwall-based The Bucket Ministry has completed a three-year clean water campaign in Athi River, Kenya, providing water filters to 13,161 households and surpassing its original goal of reaching 5,717 households.
The campaign has expanded access to clean, safe drinking water to more than two-thirds of Athi River’s population, benefiting an estimated 55,276 residents. Athi River lies about 30 kilometers outside Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and has a population of 81,302. Many lower-income families live in four informal settlements – Bondeni-Jua Kali, Kanani, Slaughter and Sophia – where there is no piped water or sewage system and waterborne disease is common.
Residents in these communities depend on water trucks that refill vending stations twice a week. A family of four typically requires about five gallons of water per day, costing 20 Kenyan shillings, or about 16 cents, despite average household earnings of roughly $13 per week.
“Today, more than two-thirds of the population in Athi River have access to clean water,” said Christopher Beth, founder, chief storyteller and director of The Bucket Ministry. “This couldn’t have been accomplished without the faithful missionaries who spent hours each day serving their neighbors. Their commitment to walk alongside families in need is what fuels our ministry’s mission.”
The Bucket Ministry partnered with local leaders and pastors to distribute Sawyer PointONE® filters connected to buckets, which provide more than 20 years of clean drinking water.
Local leaders say the impact extends beyond physical health.
“Clean water changes everything,” said Derrick Mesulamu, executive director of the Athi River campaign. “I have personally witnessed the physical, emotional and even more importantly, the spiritual transformation that happens when a community receives such an essential resource.”