Baringo residents share dirty water pans with goats, risk diseases

Drought has forced Baringo residents to fetch dirty water or bend down and drink from the same pans with their goats.

The polluted water exposes them to water-bore diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery.

Recent showers provided fresh water for the first time since August last year, but the drought will return.

They can't afford to buy tanks to harvest the little rainwater. There are few working boreholes. 

Cheborwes Angataliyet 60, from remote Katukumwok village in Tiaty, Baringo county, treks eight kilometres daily to fetch muddy water for drinking at Ng’inyang River.

“I dig a shallow well in the wet sand to fetch the dirty water to carry home for both drinking and cooking” Angataliyet said on Monday.

Some people try to boil and filter the water. After drinking, many immediately eat medicinal herbs to ward off illness.

Apart from domestic use, Angataliyet said, they use the seasonal river to water their animals, wash clothes and bathe.

“The sun is too hot, causing high evaporation. We fear losing the only water source when the rain stop for a while," she said.

Another woman, Chebokiseran Korwawa, from remotest Kokwo-Nyongi village fetches muddy water from Riongo pan dam.

She's used to brave the blistering sun, trekking more than seven kilometres daily to fetch water "because there is no other source of water.

Korwawa said the 20-litre jerrycan on her back carries enough to last for one day of cooking, drinking and washing before she has to go back to the pan for more.

Herders watering hundreds of their livestock at the water pan said they have trekked for more than 10km.

They too drink there as far from their animals as possible.

Down at Chemeril pan dam, Lotim Loyale said he thanks God for the rain, “although the water is dirty, at least we have water to drink to quench our thirst and water our livestock."

Although the rain seems to have stopped again, they have water for a month "before we get back to the dry season in August," Loyale said.

He said there is not one single borehole in the area to fetch clean drinking water.

"Due to our poverty, our people cannot afford to buy water tanks to harvest rain water," he said.

Loyale said there is not one single borehole in the area to fetch clean drinking water.

Animals drink, urinate and defaecate  in the water.

Herders too drink the water as far from their animals as possible.

After drinking the dirty water, they rush to chew traditional herbs locally known as ‘Sobeiwo’ to reduce the chances of contracting deadly water-borne diseases

He said in case of sickness, they are forced to transport their patients either to Chemoling’ot subcounty hospital 20km away or the Baringo County Referral Hospital  70km away.

Similar water shortage is currently experienced in all six subcounties, Baringo North, Tiaty, Baringo South, Mogotio, Baringo Central and Eldama-Ravine.

In all arid areas women and children fetch and carry dirty water from rivers in containers on their backs.

The county is inhabited by the Tugen, Pokot and Ilchamus pastoral communities who largely rely on livestock rearing.

Governor Stanley Kiptis in his ‘Maji, Water, Bei’ slogan before he won the seat in 2017 pledged to drill more boreholes to ensure sufficient supply of water across the county.

“During my tenure if elected governor, I will ensure water scarcity becomes a thing of the past,” Kiptis said.

Water supply in the county currently stands at low of 37 per cent.

Last week National Church Council of Kenya and NGOs said the water shortage was dire and needed to be addressed immediately.

“Despite the fact  there is  high illiteracy, there is need for urgent forums to teach our people modern water harvesting methods, especially during rainy seasons,” Reverend Christine Kipkoshiom said on Sunday.

She said more boreholes must be drilled and water storage tanks purchased.

“With availability of clean water, residents can use modern methods for kitchen gardening through irrigation to alleviate frequent hunger.

(Edited by V. Graham)