A local, Christine Mumbua fetches water
BY SHABAN OMAR
Deep within the rugged hills of Shimba Hills in Kwale County, an invisible battle rages every day. It is not fought with weapons but with endurance, resilience, and sheer desperation.
Here in Likoni village at Kichakasimba, water is more than a necessity. It is a rare and precious prize that villagers must fight for at great cost.
With no reliable supply of clean water, families are forced to draw from a single, overburdened well, its murky depths a lifeline fraught with danger.
But the well is no easy salvation. Nestled amid steep hills and thick forests teeming with wildlife, it presents an unforgiving challenge to those who seek it.
A mother, Harusi Nzao fetches water from a contaminated well.
Each trip is a perilous journey through terrain where buffaloes and venomous snakes lurk in the shadows, turning the simple act of fetching water into a test of survival.
A Journey Through Danger
Christine Mumbua, a weary yet determined villager, paints a picture of this grueling ordeal.
“The area is so hilly that even a wheelbarrow is useless. We have no choice but to carry heavy buckets on our backs and heads,” she says.
For the women of Likoni, fetching water is not just a chore, it is a daily sacrifice.
Rising before dawn, they navigate the treacherous paths in darkness, their hearts pounding at the thought of what dangers might lie ahead.
A villager, Christine Mumbua carries water on her back.
“The fear is always there, the big snakes, the buffaloes, we know they are watching from the bushes. But we have no other choice,” said Mumbua.
And even after braving the wilderness, what awaits them is hardly relief.
The well itself is small, unreliable, and easily depleted. When the water table drops, villagers must endure long, exhausting waits for it to refill or, worse, embark on an even longer trek to a neighboring village, with no guarantee of success.
A Bitter Choice: Thirst or Disease
Beyond the physical toll, the water itself is a silent enemy.
Polluted and unpurified, it carries unseen dangers that take their toll on the villagers’ health.
“Our children complain of stomach pain. “We know it’s because of the water, but what can we do?” she asked.
The list of afflictions is long, stomach infections, kidney problems, urinary ailments.
She said the poorest suffer the most, unable to afford purifiers or alternative sources of clean drinking water.
According to her, each sip is a gamble, and the odds are rarely in their favor.
A local, Fredrick Nzuki drinks contaminated well water.
The Price of Survival
Harusi Nzao, another resident, describes how the relentless pursuit of water consumes the lives of villagers, leaving them little time for anything else.
“Often, we spend so many hours fetching water that there’s no time left to farm or work,” she says. By the time you make three trips, it’s already midday,” she said.
She speaks of the frustration of waiting, sometimes for hours just for the well to replenish.
For Fredrick Nzuki, the crisis is a painful symbol of neglect.
“It’s heartbreaking that, in this day and age, we are still struggling for something as basic as water,” he said.
Nzuki appealed to the government to intervene and offer a lasting solution.
Raymond Malelu echoes this plea, describing the indignity of sharing water with wild animals.
“This is a violation of basic human rights. We are forced to drink water contaminated with animal waste because clean water is simply too expensive,” he said bitterly.
