SWIFT Story of Sustainable Change: Bringing safe, sustainable water to residents of Chokchok, Turkana
Publication date
2016-04-01Keywords
Capacity buildingCivil society
Community building
Health promotion
Maternal and child health
Natural resources
Participation
Water and sanitation
Sustainability
Sustainable development
Humanitarian practice
MDGs
Millenium Development Goals
Livelihoods
WASH
Country
KenyaMetadata
Show full item recordSeries
SWIFT Stories of Sustainable ChangeDocument type
Case studyDescription
The women and children of Chokchok in Turkana used to get up at 4 a.m., walk 4km to the nearest water point, queue up to collect water, and then carry their heavy load home again, hoping it would last the day.
Under the SWIFT programme, Oxfam has laid a 4km pipeline to the village and built two water kiosks, from which residents can access as much water as they need. It has also supported the community to set up a management committee to ensure the long-term sustainability of the system.
Jacinta Atiir and her five children already report suffering less from diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases. The children are no longer missing school to collect water, and Jacinta is spending the extra time she has on her livelihood, collecting palm leaves and using them to make brooms which she sells in the market.