In Kudho village in the expansive western region of Kenya just as in so many other places in sub-Saharan Africa, people used to struggle every day to get access to safe water for their domestic use. Esther Juma a 46 year’s old mother has lived under these conditions for a long period of time.
Each morning, Esther trekked for nearly two hours to Lake Victoria to fetch water for her family. This was the daily schedule for her and many other women in her village since the lake was the only source of water within their reach. The water from the lake was not safe for human consumption they had to boil using firewood which is also not easy to find. After fetching water, they had also to spare additional time to walk to nearby forests which were fast dwindling in search for firewood to cook their meals and boil their water.
Esther says that, “without clean water life here was exceedingly difficult. My children were sometimes too sick after taking unsafe water from the lake before we boiled it. But now life has changed a lot for us. With the help from Co2balance by repairing this borehole here we are at peace. Now we have time and energy for other things. Women here are happy since we spend less time going to the lake and back and also since the borehole water is safe and we spend less time collecting firewood since we just need a little for cooking food and not boiling water anymore. And this water tastes exceptionally good unlike the lake water.”
Within Kisumu County and Western Kenya region many communities and mainly women still endure the daily struggles searching for water for their families. Co2balance is working with these communities in rehabilitating stalled water boreholes to ensure the rural communities in the region have access to safe and clean water.