Sigh of relief for Samburu community as county rehabilitates water project

Samburu Governor Lati Lelelit commissioned a water project at Muran village in Samburu North being built by USAID Nawiri. [Michael Saitoti, standard]

For years, the Muran community in Samburu North faced significant challenges in accessing water, relying solely on shallow wells that frequently dried up.

This forced community members and their livestock to walk long distances in search of water.

This has now changed after the county in partnership with USAID Nawiri rehabilitated the community's water system by installing a 32-cubic-meter elevated steel tank, replacement of the submersible pump, a water kiosk, and a livestock trough, as well as extending the pipeline to a nearby schools and homes.

As a result, the community is now preparing land for farming, with support from our Livelihoods team, who are providing training on climate-smart agriculture.

USAID Nawiri Chief of Party Hussein Noor Said the Sh6.4 million water project consists of a borehole, an elevated steel tank, a water kiosk and an extended pipeline. It is a partnership between the county government, USAID and the Drought Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (DRSLP).

During the commissioning and handover ceremony, Samburu County Governor Lati Lelelit lauded the partnership saying his administration is committed to exploring sustainable insurance models for maintaining water systems across the county.

"I am impressed with this collaboration. The design of the project meets the chlorination standards that I would wish our engineers could adopt," said the governor.

Governor Lati said the county provided technical support for the project through the assessment and design of the water systems, supervision and quality assurance during the construction period.

He said the project will not only play a key role in domestic purposes but also in helping the community irrigate their vegetable farms.

David Lemarkat chairman water committee said that they were accessing water at the top of the hill that is twenty kilometres away from the village.

"The hill is so steep and people were scrambling with wild animals for water. Many people have fallen from the mountain in search of water but for now, we are so happy to receive safe and clean piped water in our homesteads," he said.