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Transcript/ScriptKENYA DROUGHT WOMEN (TV)
HEADLINE: Clean Water Access Reduces Burden on Women, Girls in Kenya
TEASER: In drought-stricken areas, women, girls can walk tens of kilometers to fetch clean water, putting their safety at risk
PUBLISHED: 6/30/2022 at 11:20pm
BYLINE: Juma Majanga
DATELINE: Olepolos, Kenya
VIDEOGRAPHER: Juma Majanga
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, Jepsen
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 3:05
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO))
[[Record drought in the Horn of Africa has mostly affected rural women and girls, who must walk up to tens of kilometers to fetch clean water, putting their safety at risk. U.S.-based charity group Water Is Life Kenya is drilling wells for villages and schools to provide water closer to home. Juma Majanga reports from Olepolos, Kenya.]]
((NARRATOR))
In Olepolos village on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, women and girls sing to celebrate the gift of water.
Water is a basic right, guaranteed to citizens under the Kenyan Constitution. Access to clean water, however, remains a challenge for remote communities.
((Alice Pasaloi, Olepolos Resident (Maasai, 18 secs)))
“We used to walk several kilometers across the border to fetch water in Tanzania. Sometimes we would get harassed by the people there because of our being in a foreign country. We would be told to collect and carry donkey dung in our shukas. [Shuk-ahs] It was just pure harassment.”
((Nelson Tinayo, Olepolos Resident (Swahili, 10 secs)))
“Poverty levels were very high because our livestock used to die from lack of water. There could be grass, but without water, livestock can’t survive.”
((NARRATOR))
Frequent prolonged drought from climate change has exacerbated the water problem in arid and semi-arid areas. Women and girls have been affected the most by the situation.
Water Is Life Kenya, a U.S.-based charity, is helping women and girls gain access to clean water by drilling wells and boreholes and harvesting rainwater, therefore reducing the distances they need to travel.
((Joyce Tannian, Water Is Life Kenya Co-founder ((English, 16 secs))
“Spending their whole day fetching water, it prevented a lot of girls from going to school. You’ll find a lot — most of the adult women in this community haven’t been to school at all. And so we really wanted to, you know, target a part that would help them be able to transform their lives.”
((NARRATOR))
Residents say the water project has made a big difference.
((Ipitek Ole Kisyoki, Olepolos Community Leader (Swahili, 9 secs))
“To be honest, our lives have really changed for the better. Now our kids are going to school.”
((Margret Kalai, Olepolos Resident (Swahili, 15 secs))
“Now it feels like paradise. There is no problem. You fetch water, do your laundry, the kids are clean for school. You have more time. We are in a much better place and we are happy for that."
((NARRATOR))
With 25 such water projects completed in different villages in Kajiado County and benefiting more than 100,000 residents, Water Is Life Kenya co-founder Joyce Tannian says the work has been rewarding.
((Joyce Tannian, Water Is Life Kenya Co-founder ((English, 16 secs))
“That essential barrier can be removed. The water is there; now people can develop. That’s to me a dream, and, you know, that’s the best thing in life actually. To see that fruit happening, those fruits growing, people developing themselves, that’s a miracle.”
((NARRATOR))
The saying "water is life" has never had a greater meaning for residents of Olepolos. As women and girls of the village sing in celebration, many people in other remote arid areas of Kenya still need water.
((Juma Majanga, for VOA News, Olepolos, Kenya.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Olepolos, Kenya
Embargo DateJune 30, 2022 15:39 EDT
Byline((Juma Majanga, for VOA News, Olepolos, Kenya.))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
