WUNRN
WOMEN & WATER - CLIMATE CHANGE -
CLIMATE CRISES
Isis International - Women in Action
Publication
WATER & WOMEN IN EAST AFRICA
By Annabelle Waititu
Direct Link to Full Article:
Veronica Nzoki has been a resident
of Endui in the Mwingi District in Eastern Kenya for almost 50 years. She could
still remember how the water flowed throughout the year, enabling them to grow
food that will help them survive the dry spells. But this is no longer possible
today.
Rains have become erratic that the rivers
are dry most of the time, resulting in higher chances for crop failure. As she
recounted the impact of the recent drought that lasted for three years, “Crops have
failed for the last two seasons and our livestock have been starving to death.
For the first time, Kiiya Dam which was constructed by the colonial government
more than 50 years ago, has dried up completely in 2009. This has never
happened here before.”
Women like her were
certainly not spared especially as water collection has become a full-time job.
This has prevented them from engaging in other activities and tapping other
opportunities. As she described a typical day, “We leave at six o’clock in the
morning to the nearest spring. We find a long queue. By the time we draw water
and get back home, it is well past mid-day. This leaves us with no energy for
other activities. For those of us with small businesses, we have to close them
down or leave them unattended in order to businesses.”
Although mothers are
delegating tasks, more and more children, especially girls are becoming
involved. But they are also losing the opportunities to study. Income levels
have also fallen that it has become difficult to send children to school.
Although some animals have survived, they could not be sold as they have lost
significant amount of body mass........