Scramble for water

Its evening, the hot sun is getting lost beyond Shimba hills in Taita taveta. My survey work has brought me to Voi, surveying the pipelines and water tanks for the Coast Water Corporation.
So ideally I spent my days looking for water tanks and following pipes to their destinations. I set my measuring equipments on public land, and today I found a close to ideal place within Moi County Referral hospital-Voi, next to their water tank.

Since we are running static survey with my collegues, who are many kilometers away in Makinnon, I stop data collection to preserve the battery. As I sit at the base station I listen to the water droping into the water tank. Soon it’ll fill up and definately rain on me through the over flow spilway for am sitting right under.

Then one by one I see the villagers coming towards the tank with water containers- jericans, buckets, superdrums name them. Looking at the tank I cant see a tap or  outlet other than the spilway. 

They are waiting for the spill water, and they know the time well because minute later there was water gushing out and all were filling up their containers. Its a scramble, young and old together, just women though. They have been waiting all day for evening when the tank fills up and overflows so that they can fetch water for use in their homes.

The water poured for about 30mins, but believe me all the villagers went home satisfied.  And socking wet too. Am left wondering, why cant the government supply piped water to these people, considering they are very close to the tank. They are having it anyway, just not in a dignified manner. Wouldn’t wish for my mum to be scrambling for water, like these women are.