Three or four times a day, when Nasri Garane needs water for her household in drought-stricken Garissa County, eastern Kenya, the mother of two drags an empty 20-liter jerrycan to a communal borehole, waits in line to fill the can, then drags it back home over dry, sandy ground.
Garissa County is caught in the grip of a prolonged drought that's leaving families increasingly desperate. Many have been forced out of their villages in search of water for themselves and their livestock. Cases of diarrhea — a leading killer of children under the age of 5 — are on the rise as families turn to untreated, contaminated river water. Working in collaboration with the county government, UNICEF teams are rehabilitating boreholes to ensure families like Garane's have reliable, affordable access to the safe water they need to survive. "I used to walk two hours every day to fetch water from the river when the borehole was not working," says Garane. "My children would get sick from diarrhea after drinking the dirty river water. But now it only takes me 15 minutes, and no one gets sick anymore because the water from the kiosk is clean and safe. I use it for washing, cooking and even drinking." Above, Garane carries her 2-year-old son, Liban Ali, as she heads to the UNICEF-supported water kiosk near her home in Daley Village, Garissa County. After filling her can, she washes her son's face to help him cool off.
In Daley Village, Garissa County, Kenya, Nasri Garane washes her 2-year-old son’s face at the UNICEF-supported water kiosk where she goes to collect safe water for her household.
More than 1,000 families are benefitting from the renovated borehole in Daley, and that number is rising steadily as the drought worsens and members of other communities travel long distances to fetch water here. UNICEF also distributes water treatment chemicals and hygiene supplies to families in need. "The drought has hit my family hard," says Habiba Rage, a mother of five, above. "We can only access water from the river through water trucking. My children are often sick from diarrhea and other stomach complications. The household water treatment chemicals are helping us to get clean water for cooking and drinking."
Rage's family is one of 2,250 drought-affected households that UNICEF is supporting with water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) supplies. "We were given a bucket, a jerry can, a bar of soap and water treatment chemicals." she says. "It has really helped us because we could not buy any of these things on our own. We use the bucket and soap for washing, and the water treatment chemicals for purifying the river water before drinking it." For families in Garissa, periods without access to safe water are a familiar hardship, but they have become more frequent in recent years. Unless climate change is addressed, the situation of the people here will only grow worse.
