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Kenyans Tap Sun To Make Dirty Water Sparkle


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In Kenya's massive shanty town of Kibera water is often unhealthy and far more expensive than in more affluent neighborhoods. An effort to put distribution and purification in the hands of local women is producing sparkling results.

NAIROBI, Kenya (WOMENSENEWS)--The long rainy season in Kenya has begun and sudden storms regularly burst over Nairobi. Many welcome the downpours, which signal the end of another dry summer and wash the steamy crowded capital clean each morning.

In Kibera, a massive slum of rusty tin roofs and makeshift homes spreading out from the southwest of the city, the rain is turning the twisting dirt roads and alleyways to thick red mud.

Here in one of largest slums in the world--a flashpoint for violence stemming from Kenya's parliamentary elections in December--the rain is causing open sewers to swell and uncollected garbage to rush in rivers of tattered plastic and human waste through backyards.

Potable water is one of the hardest resources to secure in Kibera and the torrents now being unleashed will offer no relief to the estimated 1 million people here who must use their meager wages--usually less than a dollar a day--to buy water for drinking and cleaning.

On a good day, 20 liters (5.5 gallons) of water in Kibera costs 5 cents, far more than what piped water costs in Nairobi's wealthy areas. But when water is rationed, or when vendors block pipes to manufacture shortages, prices can skyrocket to five times the usual cost and an impossible price for most residents here. Much of this water has been contaminated with sewage.

Now, a Nairobi-based group working to bring affordable clean water to Kibera, the Kenya Water for Health Organization, is trying to replace water vendors with women's groups who are accountable to each other to keep price gouging at bay. This informal system relies on the belief that community-driven women's collectives will handle this precious resource fairly because of their shared hardships.

"There is inadequate water supply, no toilets, no access roads, no lighting and no drainage," says Paul Ochieng, assistant project officer for Kenya Water for Health Organization. "These people need water, clean and safe water."
JanforGore

3 responses // Kenyans Tap Sun To Make Dirty Water Sparkle

  • This is a message I received on my water blog and I am passing it along here for anyone interested in participating in this contest. I believe CURRENT is truly the independent voice to pass such information on to:

    Hi, my name is Brian Mahoney and I'm writing on behalf of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-profit news organization that promotes in-depth coverage of under-reported international issues. We enjoy your site and have noticed your reports on water scarcity in Africa.

    We were wondering if you could post the following information on one of your blogs about a contest we are holding regarding this topic.

    We are sponsoring the Pulitzer Center Global Issues/Citizen Voices contest on Helium.com, an online writing website.The contest is calling for independent voices to answer questions based on our international reporting. Our latest contest has a question that might interest you and your readership. The question is:

    How is the struggle for water, such as in Ethiopia and Kenya, shaping conflicts in this century?

    The deadline to enter is May 30. To enter, visitors can just click on a question above and submit an essay to Helium. Essays will be judged by other Helium users and staff here at the Pulitzer Center.

    We really appreciate the work you do and your efforts to promote sustainable development raise awareness on water scarcity. Please let your visitors and any other individuals know about this opportunity to get their thoughts heard on this pressing question by posting a short blurb on your blog. Thanks so much for passing this on and please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

    We would also appreciate if you added us to your links section, if possible.

    Thanks so much-

    Brian

    Brian Mahoney
    Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
    1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Ste. 615
    Washington, DC 20036
    bmahoney@pulitzercenter.org
    www.pulitzercenter.org
    JanforGore
  • How the hell can anything be wrong with using the sun to make water cleaner? Is this a news station or a message board clique? I notice it on EVERY post I put here, especially regarding the environment and frankly it is more than suspicious at this point.
    JanforGore
  • I gl'd it and ffrankly don't know why anyone would do the opposite

    but it's up to the individual...
    jade_azul16

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