Montreal-area teen visits Kenya to see wells he helped build from home

A teenager from Dorval, Que. has returned from a trip to Kenya, a trip over a decade in the making.

Joshua Morin-Surette learned about the importance of clean water when he was seven years old.

Since then, he's dedicated his free time to raising money to build wells in Kenya.

In March, he got to see the fruits of his labour for the first time ever.

"It was pretty great," he said. "We're kind of talking about how it was a very humbling experience."

One of his mothers, Cori-Ann Surette, accompanied Morin-Surette on his trip to Kenya.

"The people were just amazing and welcoming everywhere we went," said Surette.

The duo travelled to Kaka-Mega for two and a half weeks to visit the three wells they've funded and meet the people they've helped for over a decade.

"They were really happy to see us," said Morin-Surette. "We were happy to see them."

Two of the wells are located at schools and the pair said it was inspiring to hear stories about the importance of clean water.

"One of the principals was talking about the attendance at school and how the students are not getting sick as as frequently as they were with cholera and typhoid and things like that," said Surette.

The two are already planning future fundraising opportunities.

"I do want to try a lot harder and it has motivated me quite a bit to put more time and more energy into, into making another 1, 2, 10 wells happen," said Morin-Surette.