What’s so great about a sand dam?

In our Christmas Appeal video this year you can hear Toby Skipper talking a little about the sand dams that your donations will help to renovate in Kenya.

Sand dams are a brilliant tool for drought-prone lands like Kenya, because they have far reaching benefits over traditional dams:

For farming – Because the sand dams store all the water underneath the sand, it is less prone to evaporation and they are able to irrigate farming land, and raise the water levels generally.

For health – Mosquitoes don’t breed so readily, thus lowering the incidence of malaria. The water is cleaner, because it is stored below ground and filtered through the sand, so things like diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases are lessened significantly.

For education – Because parents no longer have to walk long distances to get water, older children don’t have to remain at home to take care of younger siblings, and so are freed up to go to school.

For the economy – as people are freed up to focus on their businesses, whether that be farming, selling produce or other work, their financial situation improves.

Who knew that sand could have such an impact on a community? How much could you donate to empower Kenyans improve their environment, health, education and economy? Whether it’s the price of a bag of sand for a child’s sand pit, or an industrial-sized sack for concreting your patio, anything you give* will be gratefully received, and put to very good use.

Get involved

Learn about how you can be involved, as an individual or a church, by visiting the Pathways from Poverty Christmas Appeal 2017 page.

*Note, please don't donate actual sand... Thank you!