Carillon, the magazin of the Blue Community / Blue Churches in Limmattal, Zurich, Switzerland, interviewed Blue Community Ambassador Yvonne Brändle-Amolo:
About Yvonne Brändle: The Translator.
Yvonne Brändle is committed to providing clean water. She’s working to ensure that the people in Kibera, a settlement in Nairobi, don’t have to fetch it on foot every day and can instead pursue an education.
Carillon: Why are you involved in a water project in Kenya from Switzerland?
Yvonne Brändle: Because I know both worlds and see that many of the problems people in Kibera face stem from having to fetch clean water on foot. Every single day. As a result, they miss school, don’t get an education, and can’t progress. It affects their entire lives. This isn’t the case here, and that’s precisely why I hope people understand how important their support can be. For example, when a mother can get an education and take control of her own life. I’m not looking for pity, but rather understanding the life situation of these people. And, of course, it’s also about donations.
What impact can my donation have?
We can build systems that collect rainwater and deliver it to people as drinking water, so they no longer have to carry it. We can measure the success in liters. And we can also measure it in hours; in school hours that the children get because they’re not fetching water.
Where are the obstacles in your project?
I grew up with four religions in my family – and learned to respect other people’s ways. Often it’s enough if everyone takes a step towards each other and meets in the middle. If someone isn’t willing to do that, I find it a hindrance. But I enjoy translating between different worlds.
Why are you connecting your project with the church?
Because the Reformed Church in the Limmat Valley has committed itself to Blue Community – an organization that advocates for water as a human right. Worldwide. That’s a stance, not just lip service.
Drinking water in the neighborhood
Piping rainwater into underground tanks and distributing it as drinking water to neighborhoods – that’s the goal of the Amani Kibera project. Today in Kibera, it is primarily girls and women who fetch clean water. They walk for hours – and miss school. Kibera has a population density of 80,000 people per square kilometer; by comparison, Dietikon and Schlieren have 3,000.
Text and photo: Thomas Stucki
