- • The project includes the drilling of boreholes, water pans and construction of toilets in strategic areas to curb open defecation which is rampant in the area.
- • On Thursday, a 40 feet container with a reverse osmosis machine for desalination of the borehole water and other borehole equipment was delivered to Kavunzoni from Belgium.
Image: ELIAS YAA
Since independence, Kavunzoni village in Kilifi county has had no fresh water.
Residents have to walk for long distances in search of water.
School going children are not spared either as a times they have to sacrifice their education and remain at home babysitting their younger siblings as their mothers set out in search of the precious commodity.
However, the residents' fortunes are about to change after a Belgium NGO, touched by their plight, initiated a comprehensive water and sanitation project in the remote village in Ganze constituency.
The project includes the drilling of boreholes, water pans and construction of toilets in strategic areas to curb open defecation which is rampant in the area.
The water will also be used for irrigation.
Already, the Kitanda organisation has sunk a borehole at Kavunzoni centre.
On Thursday, a 40 feet container with a reverse osmosis machine for desalination of the borehole water and other borehole equipment was delivered to Kavunzoni from Belgium.
Speaking while receiving the container, Mitangani Ag. Chief Stephen Thethe said the borehole will address water scarcity issues in the area.
“It has been a challenge for the community to access water but the borehole has provided a lasting solution. Children will go to school and stop babysitting their siblings as their mothers go out in search of water,” said Thethe.
“This borehole will serve more than 80 households in Goshi, Mitsedzini and Kavunzoni villages. This will be the first freshwater source in this area. This area receives scanty rainfall and both livestock and people will not walk long distances in search of water as a pipeline will be constructed to different areas,” he said.
The equipment however, is waiting for engineers from Belgium to fit them into the borehole.
“All the equipment was shipped from Belgium and because of the current lockdown in Belgium, the engineers and the donor cannot leave the country for now. But once they ease the restrictions, the engineers will come and fix the borehole,” he said.
When he visited Kenya in March last year, Kitanda organisation president Rudy Devinck said they were touched by the water problems and high level of poverty in the area.
“We want to bring water nearer in a way that the community will not have to walk for more than 1km to get clean water for use. We at the same time want to offer them an opportunity for irrigation to uplift their lives,” said Devinck.
Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire lauded the organisation’s move to improve the livelihood of the community who have lived in poverty for decades.
“This will address the issues that have bedevilled us for ages including lack of water and the economic stagnation,” said Mwambire.
Residents in Mitangani locations have been trekking for more than 30km in search of water for domestic use from the Silaloni dam in Kwale county.
At some point, the community decried laxity from the Kilifi County government in developing the area and demanded the area be included as part of Kwale county.
The MP said they had already identified some of the crops that will perform well under the irrigation project.
“Apart from the normal crop farming, the area has the potential for beekeeping, fish farming and even the livestock keeping,” he said.
Mwambire urged the County government and other development partners to support the project saying it is the only way to change the narrative that has been there for ages that Bamba is poor.
“The area is the driest and we are coming together for the interest of residents. This is the time to change the area and improve the fortunes of residents,” he added.
-Edited by SKanyara