Approximately 20 kms off Maralal town in Samburu County is the Lchengei borehole that serves close to 200 households in the area. This borehole has been a lifeline for the village as it is their closest and most convenient source of water for their domestic use and livestock.

However, the productivity of the borehole has been compromised over time due to its overuse and destruction of the equipment from vandalism and damage by weather elements. The alternative sources of water have all dried up owing to the drought experienced between 2021 and 2023. This has in turn compromised the access to safe and clean water for domestic use by the community. Women and girls sometimes walk close to 5kms to access water putting them at risk to security threats and fatigue.

The existing infrastructure consisting of a plastic tank, a water trough and water point have been stretched beyond their capacity and the damage is evident. Both humans and livestock use the same point to access water.

“Sometimes we have to wait for long time until all the livestock have been watered and other times the borehole pump breaks down and we have to find alternative water sources” admits Caroline Lekopole, a resident of the area.

                               

Livestock once drank water from a dilapidated trough at Lchingei Borehole, while a split jerrican served as a makeshift trough, before the construction of modernized water infrastructure in Lchingei Samburu County.

 

SND, a local organisation in partnership with Oxfam in Kenya, with the generous funding of the Scottish government rehabilitated the water infrastructure by replacing the leaking tank with a larger capacity steel tank that can better withstand the extreme weather and hold a larger capacity of water. The community now have a separate water point to fetch water and an expanded water trough for the animals to drink from.

 

The residents of Lchingei village can now access clean and safe water closer to their homes and they no longer have to spend much time fetching water.