There is no running water in Kambi ya Simba. At school, students use jugs to fetch water from the nearest pump and bring it back to school, where the water is used for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. At the primary school, the nearest water pump runs dry six months of the year. Then, it’s a five-kilometer walk to fetch water.

In May ’08, U.S. service-learning coordinator Laura Rog (Albion, NY) worked with high school and elementary school students in Albion to create a booklet—and various other materials—that describes water use in the Albion schools. Rog brought the finished booklet with her to Kambi ya Simba this summer (’08), where she shared it with students at the primary school. In turn, Rog and students from Awet Secondary School surveyed other students and villagers, took photographs, and produced a report on water in Kambi ya Simba—for the students in Albion, NY.


Here we share their companion booklets.

Water in Kambi ya Simba


Water in Kambi ya Simba .pdf

View “flip book”


Water and Recycling in Albion Central School District


Albion water booklet.pdf

View “flip book”

Special fundraising projects by U.S. students

Traveling Mattresses . . . and the Village Infirmary
This video documents the journey of three mattresses from Arusha, Tanzania, where they were purchased, to the infirmary in Kambi ya Simba, where they replaced three mattresses with a combined age of 150 years. Students at the John Porter Middle School in Los Angeles raised funds for the clinic, after reading about its hardships. When asked what was most needed, the clinic doctor said new mattresses and solar lamps.

Kambi ya Simba Primary School . . . and the Water Problem
This short video, shot by WKCD’s Barbara Cervone, shows morning exercises, classrooms, the school office and more at Kimba ya Simba primary school—plus an interview with the school’s head teacher about water shortages in the dry season. In the fall of 2009, the primary school acquired a 5,000-liter water tank, thanks to the generosity of U.S. students and teachers.

   Water Studies