Water on the Edge: Life in Informal Settlement in Kenya

 By; Argwings Candy 

The day starts in Kibera, one of the biggest informal settlements in Africa, in the morning, with the same routine: water search.

This is what mornings are like to 34 year old mother of three, Rose Akinyi. Across the road, with the yellow jerrycans on her arm, she gets into a line that runs along one of the small lanes and waits patiently until it is her-turn at one of the common water points.

Life is water, she says wiping her forehead. But here, it is a day-to-day battle as well.

Availability of clean and affordable water is a thorn in the side of most of the informal settlements in Kenya. Though the government and non-governmental organizations have tried, the gaps in infrastructure still expose the residents to vulnerability.

The irony is very strong, because often water vendors sell it at higher prices than the formal utilities, and the poorest households find it more costly. To families such as that of Rose this translates to tough choices between water, food and other basic things.

The problem is aggravated by sanitation. Poor access to access to adequate toilets also compel the majority of residents to use communal facilities or in other instances unsafe sources. The outcome is that the risk of disease outbreaks increases especially in children.

But, inside these obstacles is a tale of endurance and creativity. The community groups have formed to deal with the water access and have already come up with their own small scale system that supplies cleaner and more reliable water supply.

Even non-profit organizations are contributing their part and presenting technologies like water purification systems and rainwater harvesting. These solutions do not make it perfect, but they are a step forward.

Kids run along the tiny aisles, their laughter and the ugliness surrounding them. Hardship is not the only characteristic of life in Kibera, because it is also characterized by community, strength, and hope.

When the sun comes up higher, Rose eventually fills her jerrycans and starts her walk home. It will be a journey she will repeat tomorrow, and the following day.

Things are not easy; she says, and she balances her heavy load. “But we keep going.”

Her words reflect the mindset of millions of people on the edges- clever, strong and willing to create a better tomorrow, drop by drop.