Residents of Rwakimangara village in Tharaka Nithi County in Kenya have lived without access to water for domestic use for years. They depended on a seasonal river where both humans and animals competed for this resource. Co2balance came in and repaired the only borehole in the village to ensure locals can use the borehole for their daily domestic water needs. Locals are excited to enjoy the borehole services in the area indicating that the borehole has changed family life in fundamental ways.
Speaking to Linda Karimi a middle-woman in Rwakimangara village she says “Life became much easier when Co2balance repaired the borehole in our village. We save a lot of time. For me now I have more time for farming. I have time to tend my maize, beans, millet, and lush fruit trees heavy with mangoes, oranges, lemons, and guavas. My children have food to eat now, they are healthier.”
Linda remembers the years ago while using water from a local river in the village. She narrates that as a community they would visit the local health centre severally while very sick and in pain only to be tested and find that it was typhoid. She adds that “ Now we seldom see that. Diarrhea and other waterborne diseases are way down. This borehole here has changed everything for the better and we thank Co2balance for this. Our people here are healthier and no longer visit hospitals as frequent, they also save the money they sued to pay at the health centres and the way seeking medical services is expensive in Kenya.”
Good health comes not only from the Co2balance treated borehole water that locals in Rwakimangara village drink, but also from using toilets, taking baths, washing hands, fetching and storing water in clean containers. Co2balance using its field staff and public health experts sensitizes the local community members on health and hygiene issues within its bigger WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) program being implemented in the County. At Co2balance we are glad that our safe water project in Tharaka Nithi County is making a difference.