Bridging The Gap

The Galana River. A meandering, flood-prone channel in eastern Kenya filled with crocodiles and hippos. Each year there are countless deaths due to crocodile and hippo attacks, especially among children. Flash floods are also a constant threat to the local people of the Galana river region. Bridging The Gap is a non-profit organization that builds footbridges for marginalized communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. Derek Roulston, of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, approached Bridging The Gap with a request for a bridge over the Galana. This bridge would connect an elementary school and clinic on the north side of the river with the main highway and agricultural lands on the south side. Harmon Parker, Bridging The Gap’s founder and director, along with professional engineer Chris Rollins, found the Helvetas suspension footbridge design to be most suitable for the surveyed region, known as Bombi. Together, with Bridging The Gap’s welder and construction supervisor Sylvester Ouko, Bridging The Gap worked with a team of dedicated local workers from Bombi to set about building the first suspension footbridge of this kind ever attempted in East Africa. This is the story of the Bombi Community Footbridge. Written, directed, and edited by Justin Edwards. www.bridgingthegapafrica.org