Late in 2000 Project Albert made an association with a Baptist
minister called Sam Harrell, a missionary employed by the
international organisation Africa Exchange. Almost two years
later Sam’s
good friend and fellow Christian Harmon Parker hosted another
Project Albert visit, during which the problems of flash
flooding and their impact on marginalised people came to light.
It
was 2002 and Harmon had already established an organisation called
Bridging The Gap (BTG), which had taken great steps to
address the problem by designing, producing and constructing suspension
footbridges across rivers that would otherwise be uncrossable.
Project Albert then became committed to funding and constructing
such a bridge, but world events postponed involvement until
the autumn of 2004.
Harmon’s inspiration for bridge construction stemmed
from a simple awareness of the difficulties encountered
by many of the Kenyan tribes during periods of increased
rainfall. He identified that flash flooding affected both
the young and old and that footbridges could provide access
for children to attend school and return safely, the sick
would be able to reach a hospital or clinic for treatment
and villagers would be able to attend their weekly markets
so that their commerce would not be interrupted. More significantly,
many hundreds of people die each year attempting to cross
rivers when they are in spate. After ensuring that the
engineering calculations all worked out, Harmon recruited
local artisans to fabricate materials to his own exacting
standards and after some intense engineering design and
resourcing his concept was born. A great deal of research
is done before a construction is undertaken, the main focus
of which is to establish whether or not there is a genuine
need. The Chief and elders of each community have to provide
evidence of such a need and the whole community then plays
a part before construction begins. The community has to
collect several tons of sand and gravel to be deposited
at each side of the river and the foundation pits have
to be dug, frequently through solid rock. The community
also has to make a financial contribution, which is based
on the economy of the region. Two tribesmen are then appointed
as Bridge Chairmen, who will be responsible for looking
after the bridge and carrying out minor maintenance checks.
This regime is rigidly enforced and should a community
fail on any aspect construction is postponed.
Following the disappointment of Project Albert being unable
to fulfil its commitment in 2003, a plan was formulated to
fund and build two bridges in 2004. After securing the
money from various sources, dates were set and on 21 October
2004 a team of 5 people from RAF Lyneham departed to fulfil
its obligation. |
