Poor access to water and sanitation facilities is a key challenge faced by many communities in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya, contributing to high levels of water-borne diseases particularly during the rainy seasons. In order to improve the health of these communities, good hygiene practices are promoted with a particular focus on the importance of the use of soap, hand washing, and hygienic water handling and consumption in order to reduce the risk of water-borne diseases. Through this project, ACTED is targeting 20 women’s groups and 20 working groups with the aim of equipping beneficiaries with the knowledge and tools to effectively combat water borne diseases. The relevance of targeting women is that they are often the ones to educate their family and as such hold the key to good health for future generations. ACTED is implementing this project with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA).
Communities in Samburu County have very limited knowledge about good hygiene practices and the implications of poor sanitation conditions on their health. Members of these communities often tell ACTED teams that they do not have the means to buy soap and that they do not think that it is important to use. Communities are generally not aware that water - which in this region can easily be contaminated by human and animal waste, as 84% of community members either do not have access to or do not use latrines - can cause disease and ill health. In response to this situation, ACTED is providing dry-land communities with the knowledge and tools for sustainable and cost-effective water treatment, transport, storage, and sanitation. This is critical for many families, as disease contributes to poor health, including high malnutrition rates in this part of Kenya as well as onerous hospital bills.
23-year old Mayanai, the mother of four children, has benefited from ACTED’s hygiene promotion and sanitation training and was provided with a hygiene kit including a jerry can, a bucket with lid and tap, a scrubbing brush, and bars of soap. Before, Mayanai was not aware of the harmful effects that not washing her hands and utensils before cooking could have on her children’s health. “I now understand that I was responsible for my child’s diarrhea”, she reflects.
For Mayanai, this simple training and the tools received in the hygiene kit have all contributed to the improved well-being of her entire family. Other women have also benefited from the same support and are beginning to change their hygiene habits, cooking practices, and sanitation with a significant, positive impact on their children’s health.