Masai women in two villages in the Kajiado district used to walk 10-15 km every day to fetch water that was not even necessarily safe. The population now have access to clean drinking water from drilled wells.
The Kajiado district, a two hours drive south of Nairobi, is prone to drought.
The water problems lead to conflicts when thousands of Masai nomads are forced to move to new areas in search of water for themselves and their livestock. This is a vulnerable population that DNV has chosen to support through a Red Cross project.
DNV’s project manager Marte Ness recently visited Kajiado to learn more about the projects and to evaluate a possible second phase.
Impressed
“I was impressed with what I saw, and was overwhelmed by the welcome ceremony and gratitude shown by the villagers,” she reported after the visit.
In the Kumpa village water is pumped up from a 70-metre deep well and stored in a large tank. From the tank, water is distributed to a communal water tap and to the local school four kilometres away through a pipe, as well as to a water basin for the livestock.
“Water is critical to these people,” she explains. “They are totally dependent on their livestock, and when water is scarce the cattle gets water before the children. This shows how desperate the situation has been.”
Proud pupils
She also visited the local school, and was pleasantly surprised by the high level of knowledge of its pupils. Speaking very well English they had science when they suddenly received visitors from Norway.
“They were so proud of their new water tank; they all came out of the class room and posed for the photographer,” Ms Ness says.
In the second project in the village of Sajiloni, a 90-metre deep rehabilitated well provides access to clean drinking water. It also enables the people to grow vegetables for themselves and for sale to finance the future operation of the diesel pump.
Afraid of the leopards
“A welcome ceremony had been prepared here as well, but we were unfortunately delayed and the villagers didn’t dare to stay longer due to the danger of the leopards at sunset. The few left when we arrived showed, however, great thankfulness for our support,” Marte Ness explains.
The team also visited a third village close to the Tanzanian border. She has now suggested that DNV continues its support in a second phase in this village. The village was pointed out by the Kajiado branch of Kenya Red Cross.
While in Kenya, Marte Ness and the rest of the team also visited the Kenya Red Cross in Nairobi, meeting its secretary-general Abbas Gullet: “The water aspect is a major issue for us and partnerships are the key to success. We want to further develop our expertise in this field and we work closely with the government to get a good over-view of the situation in order to be able to prioritise our resources where they are most needed,” he said.