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.