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Villagers get bridge over troubled waters

by Chris Jones
17/ 9/2008

DOZENS of lives will be saved in a small African town thanks to a kind-hearted donation from the Rotary Club of Middleton.

As many as 50 people have been swept away every year in the River Nithi as the residents of Meru, in Kenya, attempt to cross the stretch of water to reach the town of Kajuki on the other bank.

But townsfolk will no longer be faced with the prospect of wading through the dangerous river or the 30km trip to the nearest river crossing thanks to the installation of a £21,000 foot bridge.

The bridge, funded by £6,000 from Middleton Rotary and a further £15,000 from Rotary International, has been installed and is helping to transform lives, allowing children to go to school in safety for the first time and letting residents to access vital hospital services that were previously out-of-reach on the other side of the Nithi.

John Brooker, who headed out to Meru for the official opening of the bridge with fellow Rotarian Peter Hayward said: "The construction of the bridge has dramatically improved the lives of the community on the 'wrong' side of the river.

"After the rains the water level rises by about two metres and it becomes very fast flowing and dangerous. The town of Kajuki is on one side of the river with schools, a clinic, market, police and a station. Those on the 'wrong' side of the river in Meru either have in the past, had to make a detour of 30km to find a safe place to cross, or alternatively they swim across the river. Upto 50 people each year are swept away and drown."

At the official opening of the bridge, which was attended by local dignitaries including politicians and tribal chiefs, a group of women demonstrated how a pregnant woman would have had to cross the river to get to the hospital on the other side before the bridge was constructed.

John added: "Here in Britain we sometimes think that we do 'all the giving' and that those people in the third world, although they are desperate for help, do 'all the taking'

"It is only when you get an opportunity to visit the community where the project is taking place that you can really grasp just how much time and effort is put in by those people who are 'receiving' the help."

Members of the Rotary Club of Middleton were given a talk on the bridge project at their September meeting by John and Peter.

They paid special tribute to the President of the Rotary Club of Meru, Julius Gatobu and Charter President Raphael Kithinji, who endured hours of uncomfortable commutes between Meru and the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to finalise plans for the construction of the bridge.