Tullow Oil Hands Over Kshs.18 million Water Project in Turkana, Kenya

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Tullow Kenya has today handed over an Kshs.18 million water project to the residents of Kataboi in Turkana North consisting of a borehole, solar powered submersible pump and a 20,000 litre storage tank.

The project is expected to benefit over 5,000 residents as well as provide water to nearby public institutions including the Kataboi health centre as well as Kataboi primary school and Kataboi girls’ secondary school.

Tullow Kenya Country Manager, Martin Mbogo said the project fits within the company’s broader commitment to ensuring it brings real and lasting benefit to host communities in its operational areas through investing in similar social investment projects cutting across health, education, alternative lives hoods and capacity building.

“During our previous engagements with the local community, poor access to safe drinking water was clearly identified as a challenge for the community. Tullow is therefore proud that through a working partnership with the local community, the area leadership as well as both the National and County governments, we have worked together to solve this challenge,” said Mr Mbogo.

Previously, students from the Kataboi Girls’ secondary school had to travel up to five kilometres in search of water. The project is expected to cut this distance for the girls as well as members of the local community.

The latest handover comes less than six months after Tullow handed over a similar project to residents of Komusia and Nalemkais villages in southern Turkana. The project was valued at Ksh16 million.

“Access to safe drinking is means less spending on health by the community members and more on and more directly linked to health, welfare and empowerment within communities. We are committed to partnering with communities across our operational areas in addressing this challenge,” added Mr Mbogo.

In 2014, Tullow Kenya has committed to spend Kshs.400 million in social investment projects across all its operational areas. Within Turkana County, some of the notably projects include construction of Kshs. 3 million dormitory at Nachukui Primary school in Turkana North. Tullow has also installed a solar powered lighting system for classrooms, dormitories, a laboratory and administration offices at Kerio Boys Secondary School in Turkana South sub-county which was installed at a cost of Kshs 2.4 million.

Through the Turkana Education Programme Tullow has invested Kshs 30 million in providing bursaries to over 3,000 secondary school students from the County. Further, the company has spent Kshs.16 M in providing full secondary school scholarships to 55 bright and needy students from Turkana County.

The company has also awarded 15 Masters Degree Scholarships worth Kshs.75 million to scholars from Turkana County as part of the company’s annual Tullow Group scholarship Scheme (TGSS). Tullow has also donated a mobile clinic worth Kshs15 million to Turkana County.

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