Water challenges in African rural areas

Lack of access to clean water is a matter of life and death. Mothers and girls  wake up very early in the morning. All get their cans or buckets and start their journey to fetch water. This time in the morning is believed that the stream has its cleanest water. The streams are mostly down hills in the forest and this is why they have to walk in a group. After fetching the water in cans and buckets, they then carry on their backs or heads . Some streams are seasonal which forces us to go the river water which is mile away from homes.

Sheleen Wanjiru

On the way to Maralal in the central part of Kenya, far away from the nearest community.

Uyoma project

A duty of only girls

Growing up in Uyoma village of Siaya County in Kenya is quite an experience for any little girl. Back here, fetching water for household use is a duty solely designed and left for the girl child and generally unrivalled even by their boy counterparts.

No energy to do homework
Fetching water is a daunting task characterized by long distances between home and water sources, insecurity coupled with incidences that prompt the girls to walk in companies so as to ward off fears, but not even the least of these have been friendly. "We have to go long distances all evening after school. When we get back, there is little or no energy to study or do homework", says Irene a pupil at Mama Terttu Junior School.

Fear of rape and early marriages
A wider perspective of this, I have observed, has got a contributory effect on the rising cases of early marriages and sadly, rape. Young girls have been reported to have disappeared on their way to fetch water. These are often young and naive daughters of the land that are wooed into marriage with the promises of pleasantries and a false fabrication of marriage utopia. Eloping into marriage is thus a thing that this community is not new to. The trauma is more pronounced for the little girls when the wave of gang-rape gets on the rise. These marauders overpower the little girls and end up defying their innocence.

Affect on girl child´s health
Long distance, coupled with heavy loads and weights of water have adversely affected the girl child’s health. Arthritis and backbone discomforts have notably been common among the lady and womenfolk of this land over time. Simply explained, this begins from early ages when the human structure is exposed to undue and strenuous trips to and from the water sources.

Feeling of social responsibility

To the brighter side of it, this did not come entirely as a curse to the folks of Uyoma. Drawing water in its original sense has got its own peculiar upsides. In their walking endeavors to the river and back, the girl folk improves their social interaction with one another, sharing experiences and bonding further in the process. In turn, a sense of awareness forms, a feeling of social responsibility is achieved through peer learning and interaction.

Water closer to them
A fair observation into the state of things only leads the community into the option of having the situation mitigated by getting water closer to them. Clean and treated water according to Mzee Odago of Uyoma, never falls short of the expectations of this little African village.

Beatrice Awuor Odoje

Fetching water is a task of girls.