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Jacob's Well & City Harvest Church

JW's connection to Kenya began in 2006, when a team from Jacob’s Well met Edward Simiyu, pastor of City Harvest (Nairobi) at an Amahoro conference. In the fall of 2007, we decided to participate in Advent Conspiracy whose main focus was to address the crises of unclean water around the world, but weren’t sure where to start. Tim Keel recounts a conversation he had with Pastor Edward: It was when I was sharing with Edward about the Advent Conspiracy and Jacob's Well's participation in it that I learned that he is also involved in helping a remote community in northwest Kenya. The region is called Pokot and is considered by many to be the 'Wild West' of Kenya. It is a very unsettled and violent area with few resources. Though many pastors and missionaries have been killed there, and the military will not enter apart from armed air support, Edward has made significant relationship with many men there and has been asked by them to help them develop their community. This is going to involve a number of things, but first it is going to require access to clean and accessible water. This is where we get to come in and we are excited to see how God will use the people of Jacob's Well to partner with our friend Edward and his community at City Harvest Church.

Over the next several years, the Advent Conspiracy contributions from Jacob's Well were able to fund the digging of ten deep water wells (or bore holes) throughout the Pokot region. Almost instantly, changes were seen in the lives of Kenyans there - everything from less bee stings because the bees are no longer thirsty, to more children in school and more equality among men and women in leadership and in the Church. Additionally, many Pokot citizens who used to spend hours per day walking to find water are now able to join together in communal Bible studies, listening to the New Testament from solar-powered audio Bibles called "Proclaimers". These are only a few of the positive changes that fresh, clean water has provided.
  

Kibera (Nairobi, Kenya)

Pokot landscape (Kenya)

Timeline

• December 2007 - we raised enough money to drill four wells in Pokot.
• May 2008 - a team of six from JW visited the region with Pastor Edward and experienced the great need for fresh water. Encounter Pokot through photographs and video from that trip.
• Summer of 2009 - two college students from JW went to experience Pokot for themselves. See photographs from that trip [click on the Africa tag].
• December 2008 & 2009 - we raised enough money to drill six more wells in Pokot.
• November 2010 - a team of four from JW visited Pokot with Pastor Edward to dedicate all ten wells and to assess future needs of the community as the water situation stabilizes the area. Listen to their experience. See a video of their photos.
• June 2011 - people from other churches and organizations in the U.S. who are themselves connected with City Harvest gathered at JW to discuss how. Listen to some of their stories.
• November 2011 - an "architects team" of three from JW visited Pokot to research the feasibility of funding the construction of a secondary school (high school) now that the water well project is complete.

Future Involvement

Jacob's Well will continue to pursue its relationship with the people of Pokot, Kenya and City Harvest Ministries in Nairobi. A team meets regularly to brainstorm what that involvement will look like, going beyond water wells, and are currently considering plans for the construction of a secondary school. If you would like more information or to get more involved, please contact Maureen Lunn.
 

Maps