Chronic water problems facing thousands of Mwea residents will be a thing of the past after one mega project worth Sh 175 million is completed before the end of the year. Kirinyaga Governor Joseph Ndathi announced at the weekend that the project being implemented jointly between his government and the World Bank will end the rampant shortage of water for domestic use in the area. The county government will inject Sh 95 million while the World Bank will put Sh 80 million for the project whose treatment works are already being constructed at Samson Corner along Mwea-Embu highway. He said this will ensure that every village, home and school in the entire larger Mwea sub-counties will be supplied with clean piped water. “For the first time before the year ends, Mwea will get clean piped water for domestic use,this is in collaboration of world bank and my government” said Ndathi. Ndathi said lack of clean water had seriously compromised the health of residents who have been continuously suffered from water borne diseases like typhoid. He made the remarks on his second day of tour of Mwea sub-county where he visited Gathigiri and Wamumu wards to commission and inspect development projects in the area. Ndathi said the project would be completed before the end of the year as it was already in advanced stage of construction. "The biggest problem of Mwea is lack of clean water. This one we are addressing it today and it will be a thing of the past. Health is the other problem because of lack of clean water. We are here to resolve this once and for all,'' said.Kirinyaga county governro Joseph Ndathi washing his hands at a water point after clean piped water reached Gathigiriri ward,Mwea. Diarrhoea,typhoid,Dysentry and other waterborne disease were the silnet killers among mwea people where they used to fetch water from the rivers around where the waters were contaminated. Water contamination was as a result of people bathing in rivers,defacating when swimming,animals also used to dirtyfy the water when drinking ricking lives of those fetching water downstream. As a culture river water was never boiled making many especially children prone to waterborne diseases.

Water they say is life, but this statement has a deeper meaning for Turkana people who put their lives at risk everyday in search of water for domestic and animal use. Among Turkana culture fetching water is a woman’s chore while men’s role is herd livestock and provide security. Water is a scare commodity in Turkana so women and children have to walk for long distances looking for water, years, rivers have dried up following prolonged dry spell. Kotaruk/Lobei Ward in Loima Sub County and other parts of the county,women are in a daily dalliance with death as they climb down traditional hand dug wells, some up to 15 metres deep to draw water for their families and livestock. And they do this the only way they know how, with up to 10 or more lining up on the walls of the well in a human chain or pulley to ensure that each single bucketful gets to the surface . This not only exposes them to the risk of the wells caving in, but also to attacks by raiders who have made the region their playground. Water covers 71 per cent of the earth’s surface and remains among the most important natural resources on the planet. It is vital for economic and social development and is indispensable when it comes to sustaining and increasing livelihood activities whether rural or urban. Access to water contributes to poverty reduction, economic growth and environmental sustainability. Unfortunately, with the perennial water scarcity in the county and other parts of northern Kenya, residents spend too many man hours in search of the commodity at the expense of other economic activities. Even more important, water is a central part of the basic rights for all people under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2010, access to safe drinking water and sanitation was also recognised by the UN General Assembly as a human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life. It is ironical that while the global MDG target for safe drinking water was achieved in 2010, thousands of residents still have to put their lives on the line to access it, irrespective of the quality. It is a very dangerous state of affairs when access to water becomes an issue of power relations. In most communities, including ours, the responsibility of providing water for the family falls under women and children, especially girls. This, therefore, means that failure by those responsible to provide the precious resource only serves to compound the challenges of women, who are an already vulnerable lot in most social settings. Citizens should be granted fair opportunities to access to clean water and also use the water. Turkana County has been allocated Sh3 billion to boost food sufficiency through irrigation projects that are found in Naoros Irrigation Scheme (Turkana Central), Lotubai Irrigation Scheme (Turkana East), Lojokobuo and Kang’alita irrigation schemes (Loima) and Katilu Irrigation Scheme (Turkana South). A recent visit to Kakuma, showed that Kakuma is one of the driest, poorest place in Turkana County but has very many refugees from South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia who live in Kakuma refugee Camps as it is safe. Providing water for the growing refugee population has been a struggle, until now. The discovery of vast underground sources of water announced in September 2013, has transformed the lives of these people. Since then, seven boreholes have been dug. With the drilling of boreholes, many though water would stop being a problem but the residents are yet to get the natural resource as the distance is still wanting, that they have to cover on empty stomachs. Being a nomadic Akal Longor had to trek 20kilometers to look for water in the nearby borehole, she said, her journey started at 6am to the nearby water point at Kakuma town. She managed to get one jerrican of water due to distance, her weak body since she had not had food for two days. Longor says that women have to walk for kilometres comparing to the fact that they also have other responsibilities waiting for them at home. “We have to look for water for long distances leaving behind other chores since without water nothing can be done” Longor added. The governor Josphat Nanok said that the water boreholes are not enough with the rising number of refugees. He also said that water levels are also going down very fast due to the nature of the soil that does not hold water, evaporation is very fast due to the heat degrees that are in the area. “We have boreholes drilled in the area, the water level is going down very fast due to the heat in the area so evaporation is also very high” said Nanok. ends.....

CONDITION OF SCHOOL IN ARID AREAS

Pupils of Morung’ole primary school will have to wait longer for the government to give them funds for the construction of classroom. The pupils who study on makeshift classroom do not have an alternative but to do their learning in the classroom. The school that has upto standard six has two teachers from the teacher’s service commission who teach from standard one to standard six and one from the county government taking care of the ECD learning. The Headteacher Joseph Ngitira noted alot of problems in the school mostly during the windy, rainy season where during windy season mostly in the morning hours the roof has been blown off severally where the teachers use their own money in buying iron sheets so as to enable the pupils to continue learning. Ngitiri also said that the school had benefited from NRC an NGO where they were given seven desks and three latrines were built but the latrines sank during last rains resulting pupils and teachers to use the nearby bush that is feasted by poisonous snakes. “Every morning pupils have to kill about three snakes that try to disturb them when they are learning, this is a very bad thing keeping in mind that the schools’ toilets sank during last rains making the pupils more prone since they have to defecate in the bushes near the school” added Ngitiri. Ngitiri however disclosed that he has written numerous letters to the education officers,CDF NGO’s around seeking assistance of having modern classrooms that will enable the pupils learn without fear. He said that the schools that are in the surrounding have modern classrooms saying that Morung’ole was established by the government in 2007 but started being operational in 2010. “I have tried to reach to several organisations for assistance keeping in mind that the desks in the school are not enough as pupils sit six a seat meant for three or four, the schools near my school were established years after Morung’ole but they have modern classrooms wondering why my school is left out” He added. The school has 259 pupils ECD having 157 (80 boys,77 girls), 135 boys and 124 girls from standard one to standard six. The pupils are in class from 8am upto noon so that they can go looking for water kilometres away from their Manyatta homes and school, as the school does not have a borehole that can serve the pupils in quenching their thirst. Ends... 0723321326

BAN ON CHARCOAL BURNING OPPOSED BY TURKANA RESIDENTS

Despite Turkana County government banning charcoal burning residents have opposed the move citing there is no other source of income for them. The residents of Nasiger that has over 100 households are charcoal burners have opposed the move saying that there is no other alternative means for them to earn a source of living. County executive member on energy, environment Rhoda Loyor has given the ban notice citing land degradation due to increased felling of trees leaving the soils naked. Rhoda said the most affected areas are Lokichar, Kakuma,Nasiger due to the Internally displaced persons where there is no forest cover. Loyor said that charcoal burning has contributed to the degradation of forest cover where burners are killing trees so that they can get one for burning. She said that after dried trees were completed, those doing the illegal business are pouring salt or cutting the roots for it to dry fast since there is no dead tree. Loyor said that the remaining shrubs if not protected and forest cover added, there is danger citing that many residents have shifted from their areas and converged in where there is shrubs. “As the county government we have banned charcoal burning due to the decreasing forest cover in the area, Turkana is continuing being a desert because more trees are being cut down by charcoal burners” said Rhoda. Rhoda said that despite challenging livelihoods, where the pastoralist’s community has stopped selling goats, they have gone to burning charcoal. The ban as she said was for the good of the residents and their animals in the near future. “There are no dead trees, the charcoal burners are pouring salt or even cutting the roots of trees so that it can dry since there are no dead trees remaining for burning charcoal” The CEC added. She said that they have several species that are under observation at KEFRI and also Kenya forest service adding that they have partnered in planting trees in all the schools in the county where 850 seedlings have been done in the 2013/2014. She also added that market places, public institutions had trees planted but dried up due to lack of water where the water company could not provide water for the seedlings adding that a water tank had supplied water but it took long more than four months to come back and supply water. As a way of showing dangers of charcoal burning she said that there is need for civic education in the county. Ends... 0723321326