Matone De Chiwit

We use it every day, whenever we want, and we barely think about how lucky we are that we have such an accessibility to it; I’m talking about water. In the first world an average family of 4 has around 3 gallons of drinking water per day while in developing countries and places of poverty without proper access to water, families can barely get a few ounces. There are many problems that are ongoing in Kenya (and other countries) specifically water scarcity and poverty.

The lack of water is an impossible obstacle to surpass. You can’t grow food, you can’t stay healthy, you can’t go to school, and you can’t keep working. Without access to clean water the chances of breaking out of poverty are near to nothing. With unclean water sources miles from villages many able bodied members must spend hours finding and transporting water and of those living in Kenya, 40 percent are children under 15. Kenya has one of the highest rates of population growth. In the past 35 years the population has tripled leading to an increased pressure on the country’s resources causing young people and women particularly vulnerable to poverty. They do not have equal access to social and economic assets and yet women and young people have great potential for contributing to economic development and social progress if they are able to fulfil their potential.

Children are lost everyday due to unclean drinking water.

Environmental concerns are strongly linked to poverty in Kenya, poor water management, soil erosion, declining soil fertility and Climate change. There are only limited water source for Africa to utilize, since surface water sources are generally polluted, and the cost for piped clean water is too expensive. This is a problem because water is already very scarce especially to small towns, but when there is a source it may not always be clean due to several factors that could lead to contamination. Because of limited finances, wells and the sanitation required are not properly maintained. The testing of water quality is not often performed as much as it should, and lack of education makes the people using the water source believe that as long as the water is from the well the water will be safe to drink. When access to a water source is found focus is mostly put towards quantity over quality.

There are many projects that are still in progress with hopes of helping those who do not have the same access as we do, projects like – Matone De Chiwit, where Karishma Bhagani created a water filtration invention with the hope desire to be able to bring clean drinking water to Kenya and worldwide. There are also some like The Drinkable Book and Life Straw from WaterIsLife. We’re not asking you to be an inventor or an engineer, all we ask is that you help the cause and donate.