NAIROBI, Kenya –
Airmen and Sailors joined Kenyans March 30 and 31 in an effort to increase access to clean drinking water within the country's arid Garissa District.
A Charleston C-17 Globemaster III more than 100,000 pounds of well-drilling equipment and nearly a dozen Navy Seabees to Nairobi's airport during the two-day mission. The Seabees, who are construction specialists, will use the equipment to drill wells for Somali nomads who inhabit the area between Nairobi and Kenya's eastern border with Somalia.
The well-drilling project is part of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa's mission to develop and nurture partnerships and promote regional cooperation within the Horn of Africa.
One of the dozen Seabees who will help the Kenyans drill the well has an uncommon perspective on the project. Petty Officer 3rd Class Jack Ndaiga, Naval Construction Battalion - 74, deployed from Gulfport, Miss., was raised in Kenya and lived there until moving to the United States at age 21. This was Petty Officer Ndaiga's first time back in Kenya since he joined the Navy three years ago.
"I'm excited to come back and help out," he said. "Some people have to walk (long distances) for water, so to have it closer would be a good thing."
The petty officer's sentiments were echoed by the project's leader Chief Petty Officer Joseph Hangren, who said access to clean drinking water is a major problem in Kenya. This project is part of an overall plan that looks to establish more wells to help Africans help themselves. He said planning the multiple well projects is a long, drawn-out process that aims to improve stability in the region without having any negative environmental consequences.
According to one Kenyan official, the well projects are helping the task force's effort to create and sustain relationships within Africa. Kenyan Col. Tai Gituai, the chief of operations for the well-drilling project, said the water will help many Kenyans.
"We look forward to cooperation and continuous engagement between Kenya and the United States," he said.
The C-17 crew, who picked-up the equipment and Sailors from the Djibouti airport near Camp Lemonier, was only in Kenya long enough to offload their cargo and passengers, but the significance of their contribution to the welfare of Africa's people was not lost on one of the crew's Airmen.
"It always pays off to deliver necessary items to a country in need," said Airman 1st Class Joshua Weston, a 17th Airlift Squadron loadmaster deployed with the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. "In this case, we were able to supply machinery so that people under drought conditions could receive water - a basic need of life."