Namoruakwan Lokorkor Water and Sanitation Project Success Story

Alleviating Insecurity among Residents of Lokorkor through Water Provision

Namoruakwan Lokorkor Water and Sanitation Project is located at Lokorkor in Katilia Ward, Turkana East Sub-County. It is made up of five (5) villages, namely Lokorkor, Namoruakwan, Nayokori, Akatorong’ot and Kang’ibenyoi. Turkana East Sub-County is one of the seven Sub-Counties mostly affected by drought during dry seasons. The residents of Lokorkor mostly rely on the Kerio seasonal river for domestic and livestock farming purposes.

The economic activity of the area is mixed farming, pastoralism and crop farming practised along the banks of the river. Villages are highly dependent on the seasonal Kerio River as their main source of water; however, the quality of water is poor, and during the dry season, the river dries up completely. This would lead to women and girls having to travel for long distances, approximately 5km, with their animals in search of water.

During such difficult times, women and children are the most affected, as they spend most of their time looking for water, which subsequently leads to most households leaving out essential water usages such as taking a bath. Children would also often miss school as they had to help their parents look for water, affecting their education.

Broken down hand pump

Broken-down hand pump

02 Women girls fetching water dry riverbed

Women and girls fetching water in a dry riverbed

The Namoruakwan Lokorkor water and sanitation project was implemented by Namoruakwan Water Users Group, established through the great efforts of the County Government of Turkana in 2018. Through its proposal to WaterFund, the project was anticipated to benefit 2,400 residents with a per capita investment cost of KSh 12,367.

Namoruakwan Water Users Group, through the County Government of Turkana, reached out to WaterFund for opportunities in partnership in the intervention of improved water access, supply and sanitation in their area. WaterFund financed Namoruakwan KSh 29.6 Million to implement a water and sanitation project within 9 months under WaterFund’s Green Growth and Employment Programme (GGEP). The GGEP Programme has been financed by the Danish International Development Agency with the main objective of improving and sustaining access by communities and households to water and sanitation for their domestic and productive needs.

The Namoruakwan Lokorkor water and sanitation project involved: access and distribution of water for domestic and animal use: construction of 1 block of 4-door VIP latrines for boys at Lokorkor primary school, 2 blocks of 2-door VIP latrines at Lokorkor dispensary, removing the broken-down hand pump, equipping and solarisation of Namoruakwan borehole, construction of one elevated steel tank with a of capacity 50m3 at Moruarengán hill, construction of 3no. Cattle troughs for animals; construction of 5no. Water kiosks and construction of WUA office block. The project had savings which were used to buy buckets, washing soaps, bathing soaps and inner clothing for both schoolboys and girls and reusable sanitary towels for school-going girls.

Namoruakwan Lokorkor water and sanitation project was launched on 20th January, 2020, to kick-start the construction works of gravity main pipes and water storage tanks that would lead to a water distribution network of 10 kilometres serving 550 households with an average of 6 people per household. The project launch was graced by Mr. Moses Natome, Chief Officer for Water Services, Environment and Mineral Resources, Turkana County.

Farming done along borehole area

Farming done along the borehole area

The project was substantially completed in November 2020 and became operational in January 2021. The current project operational model involves a management committee formed by the local community representatives from each village, with the area sub-county water office providing technical support.

Beneficiary spraying insecticides

A beneficiary spraying insecticides

The Namoruakwan Lokorkor water and sanitation project has been a great success. By the month of February 2021, the entire population in all the villages could access clean water at all times from the water points within the villages. There was also reported increased settlement within the area due to the availability of water for both humans and livestock. Cases of animal theft occasioned by movement in search of water had greatly reduced. The connected institutions include 2 learning institutions and 1 health centre.

Catherine Emojong Ekutan, a mother of two and treasurer of Namoruakwan water users group, is a happy beneficiary and says:

“This project is a blessing to residents of Lokorkor, especially for us women. Accessing clean water has become easier because women and children could spend most of their time walking to fetch water from Kerio. It was not easy fetching water, especially when the River Kerio had overflowed from floods, or during the dry season, when we were forced to spend more time allowing for filtration to take place from the hand-dug wells that are within the river, in order to get clean water. During such times, women would fetch water until late in the evening, which became a security issue in the area. Now with the completion of the water kiosks around our villages, we are able to fetch water safely within our village at any time.”

The water project office is operational from Monday to Friday on normal working hours (8 am to 5 pm). The Water Users Association members currently run all operations in a rotational manner.

In addition, the Turkana South Sub-County water office does regular monitoring and provides support to the project committee in running the project. Part of the project involved the installation of a solar-powered remote monitoring sensor, which enables any relevant party to view data through the GSM network or the internet. This system reports whether the borehole is pumping or not and the power available for the pump.

The water project is a great success and has led to a change in ways of life for the community. One community member who lives near the borehole has taken advantage of the spillage from the cattle trough. He has directed the spilt water to a piece of land where he has planted maize and vegetables. There is a reported increase in school enrolment due to increased settlement in the area. The local dispensary has also reported a notable decrease in waterborne disease cases.

Picture Gallery

Branded water kiosk