How women risk their lives while searching for water

Imagine queuing up to midnight for a single jerrican of water, sometimes with hyenas laughing from the darkness around you.

The drought has dried up swathes of Seme sub-county, prompting women and children to risk their lives late into the night in search of water.

Sometimes there are long queues past midnight as the young and the old wait their turn to fetch water from Kamolo village near Kit Mikayi hills.

A number of the more than 4,000 residents who depend on the well have been attacked by hyenas that roam the area from the hills as they walk long distances to fill their jerricans.

The beasts also want a share of the well.

Caren Okoth, 74, was recently injured in a hyena attack. She was rescued by other women who shouted for help, but not before the beast had quickly slurped up all the water she had fetched.

When The Standard team visited the area at 3pm on Sunday, more than 50 men, women, and children were queuing at the well.

It is survival for the fittest as the villagers shove and push to be among the first to fetch the precious commodity, with tempers rising by the second.

“Women sometimes fight as children watch. Sometimes the jerricans turn into weapons,” said Vincent Juma

No one is given priority, not even the aged or disabled; everyone must wait their turn on the queue. Fetching water is a hair-raising experience that involves climbing down the 15-foot hole, quickly filling the container, and having someone lift it to the surface using a rope.

Accidents happen

Accidents often happen. Selina Juma, 60, is nursing leg and head injuries after she slipped and fell into the well as she was climbing up after fetching water.

“I almost died. Young men helped me out, but my bones still ache,” said Juma.

She said a number of women and children have been injured in the scramble at the well.

For others, the well has left behind rising medical bills.

A number of villagers have suffered an attack of waterborne diseases from drinking and using dirty water.

"Only a few of us can afford to treat the water," said Ruth Aketch.

The well has also been blamed for a number of broken families and school dropouts, as relationships blossom during the night vigils.

“We are have increased cases of early pregnancy, families are breaking up," said Aketch.

The Kisumu county executive committee member in charge of water, environment, and natural resources, Salmon Orimba, said the administration was working to alleviate the problem, saying the Simbagero project, which was supposed to cover Kaila sub-location, had not taken off due to problems with the power supply design.