{"id":2452789,"date":"2020-01-01T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=318482"},"modified":"2020-01-01T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-01T15:00:00","slug":"mulcahy-familys-purpose-clean-water-is-a-necessity-not-a-luxury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/mulcahy-familys-purpose-clean-water-is-a-necessity-not-a-luxury\/","title":{"rendered":"Mulcahy family\u2019s purpose: Clean water is a necessity, not a luxury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: Sponsored content brought to you by Africa Water Wells<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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There are multiple schools near the village of Sotik in Kenya that operate with no clean water, in addition to other tough conditions. The Mulcahy family wants to change that in 2020 by building four new water wells. <\/em><\/strong>
Courtesy Photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Clean water is something Americans take for granted. We use freely to water our lawns, enjoy long showers, wash our cars and bathe our dogs.<\/p>\n

But being witness to places in the world where clean water isn\u2019t available is an experience that never left the minds of Sandy Mulcahy and her son, Lee Mulcahy.<\/p>\n

An African safari in 2010 was meant to be a 50th anniversary vacation for Sandy and her late husband, Bud. But the relationships formed during their stay in Kenya led them to a much greater purpose.<\/p>\n

Now, at 84 years old, Sandy is traveling back to Africa regularly with Lee, and each time it seems their purpose grows even larger.<\/p>\n

From hosting annual women\u2019s conferences that teach female villagers how to make a living, to distributing buckets with filters that provide clean water, the Mulcahys have their sights set on making a difference that lasts well beyond their lifetimes.<\/p>\n

Setting the stage for future wells<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Courtesy Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sandy, who splits time between Arlington, Texas, and Aspen, Bud and Lee built their first well for Kenyan villagers near the town of Sotik in 2012. They added a water tower and tank in 2013.<\/p>\n

After that project, for which Bud\u2019s engineering background was instrumental, the village began thriving. With clean water available, the villagers gathered together to build a Christian school and named it after Bud \u2014 the Tili bei Bud Academy.<\/p>\n

Moved by how their act of kindness could open the doors to new beginnings, they knew more had to be done. In 2017, Sandy and Lee led the construction of a rehabilitation and medical clinic. They brought a team of doctors and nurses in from Texas that were able to provide medications and exams, which was especially critical due to a national nurses\u2019 strike in Kenya that year.<\/p>\n

2019 fact-finding mission <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Courtesy Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 2019, the Mulcahy family set out on a fact-finding trip to the same African region to see if they could develop more clean water projects. What they found was beyond anything they could have imagined.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to three school sites and let me tell you, it absolutely ripped my heart out to see there was no clean water,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n

The first school they visited, Kipnogsos, is a school for children with special needs. Sandy Mulcahy said the children often soil themselves during the school day and have no means to get cleaned up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole thing was just heartbreaking,\u201d Sandy said.<\/p>\n

At Kipsingei Secondary School, a highly ranked Kenyan school with motivated students, there is no water source. Sandy said some of the resident students were using filthy water for bathing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis water was like nothing you would ever consider using for anything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

At the third school they visited, Soimosiek Primary, the children approached Sandy and Lee and begged for clean water.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne by one, they were asking us to be given clean water,\u201d Sandy said. \u201cTo know that we have water here in the United States and turn it on and waste it \u2014 there\u2019s no way you couldn\u2019t be affected by that.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: Sponsored content brought to you by Africa Water Wells There are multiple schools near the village of Sotik in Kenya that operate with no clean water, in addition to other tough conditions. The Mulcahy family wants to change that in 2020 by building four new water wells. Courtesy Photo Clean water is something […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2452789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 23:19:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2452789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452789\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2452789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2452789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2452789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}