ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — The Rock Island Rotary Club is celebrating a years-long effort to help some schools in Kenya access safe water.
The chapter founded the Western Illinois Eastern Illinois Water Project. Through it, they partnered with other Rotary Club chapters and a Texas nonprofit called Replenish which provides water filters and sanitation education to rural villages in Africa.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24, the club heard from two Kenyan school leaders who said the filters have reduced waterborne diseases among students.
"It's just rewarding for me to see all those children who otherwise not have gone to school. I see them going to class...just through friends and partnerships," Jane Adeny Memorial School Founder Dr. Andrew Otieno said.
Since 2016, the project has purchased and delivered more than 200 water filtration units to schools in Kenya, which officials said have benefitted more than 18,000 students.