KenyaConnections

Hello all
Our geology specialist passed along some potentially useful documents. Please browse and use as you need.

WHO drinking water guidelines
The occurrence and distribution of fluoride in groundwaters of Kenya
Assessment of water resources and implementation of rural water supplies in western Kenya
A HYDROGEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE NJORO AREA (RIFT VALLEY OF KENYA)
water resources of semi arid kenya
EXCESS FLUORIDE IN WATER IN KENYA
Kenya drinking water guidelines
KENYA GROUNDWATER GOVERNANCE CASE STUDY
Shape of the SubMiocene Erosion Bevel in Kenya_isricu

As I understand it, one of the goals of this website  is to facilitate knowledge exchange between member NGOs to improve the work we do. I think this is a good idea, since as decision makers we make the best decisions we can make if we possess the best information available. So, I’ve been thinking of ways to facilitate such knowledge exchange. Basically the NGOs (by and large EWB chapters in the US, at least for now) on this website are tasked to find technical solutions to communities’ problems. For instance, six years ago our EWB-UMass chapter was asked to improve the quality and quantity of water in Namawanga, a village near Webuye in western Kenya. Back then, it would have been nice had we been able to browse online cookbook low-tech engineering solutions to development problems, especially solutions that have been attempted by other, similar NGOs. Having access to an easy-to-use database would’ve given us a good idea of technologies that we could apply to solve our community’s water problem. Obviously, each problem we face is unique but there are obviously similarities between projects, which is why this website exists in the first place.

To illustrate, you could start with categories for the general solution you’re looking for, such as “New water source development” or “Improvement of existing water source”. Say your NGO is charged with increasing your village’s water supply, so you select “new water source development”. Then you’d get a drop down list of technologies that other NGO’s have tried, such as spring box construction, rainwater catchment and borehole installation. Then, for each of these technologies, you could include generic design information, permitting information (e.g. if you drill a well then you need to sort our license and potential usage permits), and maybe a list of pros and cons could be provided along with a list of all the Kenyaconnections groups that have tried these technologies and whether they were able to successfully implement the technologies. You could also include links to or contact information for contractors (in case, for instance, you’re looking to drill a borehole). This type of structured search would also (I think) allow NGO A to efficiently connect with relevant NGOs that have already implemented the technology that NGO A is assessing.

We have been making many changes to this website in the past couple of weeks and there are more changes to come in the days to follow. But for the time being I wanted everyone to be made aware of a couple of new functions added to the groups..


First we have added a Group Task Management system to the groups. When you are logged in, click on the link for the group of interest. You will notice a “Community Navigation” sidebar come up on the left hand side. Click on the link that says “TODO” for the GTM interface. From here you can define new projects and tasks, assign those tasks to users, set deadlines, track progress etc. You can think of it as a very slimmed down version of basecamp and I recommend that you get into it and experiment with the settings. Personally, I find the commercial versions of task management systems to be extremely helpful in my professional life and if it can help us achieve more as volunteers than it would be silly not to implement it.


Secondly in the same location as the GTM described above, you will find a “DOCS” link. This is meant to function as group online document system similar to the one offered by the big G. This could be used in conjunction with the GTM system, or as a location to keep notes of your monthly meetings, etc.


Additionally you may notice a new donate button glaring in your face in the upper right hand corner. This is a free website, and nobody is obligated to pay anything. However, if you would like to make a donation to help support the costs of web hosting and administration than please do so using the donate link. All donations are non-tax-deductable (at least for the time being).


Coming soon we will be adding a group calendar, a really fancy front page and lots of other cool features to help streamline our workflows. And please shoot me a note if there is anything you think of that you would like to see built into this website. Most of the things you will think of are fairly easy to do. Just ask.

Kenya Connections is taking direction.  I recently came into contact with Matt Smith and have been working with him in the direction of this website.  He was able to put it very eloquently as follows:

Mission Statement

Mission: To provide a comprehensive social-networking resource for Social Entrepreneurs and their development organizations.

So-cial · En-tre-pre-neur : / sōSHəl · äntrəprəˈno͝or /
Singular – An agent of change who recognizes a social problem and responds through innovative ideas and morally conscious action.
Plural – Those who will change the world.

Overview: We believe that the most powerful agent of change on this earth is the Social Entrepreneur. No Social Entrepreneur is identical: they are young and old; they are mothers and fathers; they are black and white. Social Entrepreneurs are unique, yet they all share something in common: each desires positive social change and each are willing to create it.

We believe that the best way to sustain and maximize the energy of Social Entrepreneurs is to connect them, which is the purpose of this website: it is an experiment to see what happens when Social Entrepreneurs connect and collaborate.

Kenya Connection is a social-networking resource that is developed and ran by Social Entrepreneurs working in the grassroots development sector in Kenya. It is a reciprocal agreement, you get what you give: put in time, work to connect and learn. This site is meant to be a tool for the next-generation of development by striving to be dynamic and relevant, which is why the site’s content is entirely entrepreneur-generated and entrepreneur-tuned.

This is the first post for the KenyaConnection website. The purpose of this website is for EWB groups working in Kenya to share information with one another.

How should I use this website?
Well, thats a tough question to answer given the stage this site is in. Some ways you can use this website are:

• You can create a profile keep up to date with news from various other EWB groups working in Kenya
• You can create a group page for your project so others know what your project is all about
• You can post a question related to EWB Kenya projects in the Forums.
• You can respond to other peoples questions in the forums
• You could help me figure out other ways to use this website (email me your ideas)

One of my ideas was that this could serve, to some extent, as a tool for project management for our projects. For the time being we will keep things simple and expand as time goes on.
Please take a look at the Project pages for an idea of what other groups are doing as well as the Project Map (on the projects page) to locate other projects in the vicinity.

If you want to see your project on (or off) of this website please let me know

Welcome again and thanks for reading.