Water Brings Joy: The Story of Olobelibel's Borehole
- alischoeman1
- Dec 15, 2025
- 2 min read
The Enkakenya Sidai Initiative, driven by a deep commitment to empower and uplift, is partnering with PFP to finally bring clean water to Olobelibel village, Kenya, through a new community borehole.
It’s leader, Eve Merin (pictured), recounts the incredible day-by-day journey this November that led to water…
“On Wednesday 26th November the Olobelibel community gathered and asked to commission the new borehole. They prayed to God to provide water in the desert, asking that drilling commences safely with no injury or damage to machinery.
On the morning of Thursday 27th, the drilling commenced. Community members kept vigil of the area and provided the workmen with food and refreshments to keep up their strength.
On the second day of drilling, at only 70m deep and much sooner than expected, water
started oozing out of the site. When that first surge of water burst from the ground, the men around the rig erupted into cheers, dancing and clapping with pure joy. Women immediately mobilised, and at church thanked and blessed PFP’s generous donors for making it all possible. Watch this very special moment here: https://vimeo.com/1141360158
On the third day the water came out in plenty. Men from the community dug a small earth pan downstream to collect water for the livestock to drink. Cows, donkeys, sheep, goats and dogs all happily had their fill.
On the fourth day, drilling was complete - glorious water was now flowing! As this was a Sunday, the community decided to slaughter a goat to thank and feed the workmen.
On the fifth day the workmen cleaned the borehole, enabling the entire community to draw water using all sorts of containers available to them. Donkeys helped the women to ferry water to their homes, while livestock indulged some more.
This partnership delivers hope, dignity, and lasting relief by ensuring the community’s long-awaited access to safe, reliable water.”
A team of water experts are now conducting pump testing to determine the yield and quality of the water. Meanwhile, community meetings are taking place to strengthen local governance structures, developing governing rules and regulations for the borehole’s operation.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of donors through PFP’s Big Give Christmas Challenge 2025 campaign ‘Water is Life’, we can now install the solar pump and construct the kiosk and all its associated infrastructure (including the ATM and troughs). We expect the borehole to be operational early in 2025, and once fully implemented it will serve approximately 3,000 community members. An incredible milestone for the community and an inspirational end to the year in Olobelibel!
