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Transcript/Script(PLAYBOOK SLUG: KENYA AIR WATER HARVEST (TVR)
HEADLINE: Kenyan company makes water from air for parched communities
TEASER: The Indian-made generator produces least 500 liters of water daily
PUBLISHED AT: 4/30/2024 at 9:15am
BYLINE: Victoria Amunga
CONTRIBUTOR: None
DATELINE: Nairobi
VIDEOGRAPHER: Jimmy Makhulo
VIDEO EDITOR: Jimmy Makhulo
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Purnell Murdock
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ, Page
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, ZOOM
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_ TRT:
TYPE: TVR
TRT: 3:29
VIDEO APPROVER: MAS))
((INTRO )) [A Kenyan start-up is producing water for dry communities literally out of air. The company Majik Water uses an Indian-built device that pulls humidity out of the air using an electrostatic filter. With the technology, it is able to supply up to 500 liters of water per day in arid regions. Victoria Amunga reports from Nairobi.]
((NARRATOR))
Access to clean water is difficult for people living in the arid parts of Kenya. Due to climate change and more frequent droughts, water holes and rivers dry up more often, posing challenges for families trying to survive.
((NARRATOR))
A challenge that Kenyan start-up Majik Water is helping to meet using this water generator.
The device, made by the WaTech company of India, pulls humidity from the atmosphere using an industrial fan. The moisture is trapped in silica gel before it's condensed using refrigerating gas that creates liquid water.
The founder, Beth Koigi, says the generators can produce up to 500 liters of water a day.
((Beth Koigi, Majik Water)) (English 21 secs)) ((Zoom))
''Dry seasons are becoming quite regular and the whole purpose for the system is to enable communities access [to] clean drinking water without depending on the traditional water sources. So, in regions where — if borehole water dries or rivers, temporarily rivers dry — communities can access clean drinking water.”
At least 25 water generators, paid for by humanitarian organizations, have been distributed to vulnerable communities.
School officials, like Chris Musonye, say having the water generator at his school has improved his learners’ sanitation and academics.
((Chris Musonye, Deputy Head Teacher)) (( English 11 secs)
''The time we used to waste going to look for water, we no longer run up and down looking for water because we have water in school. So, that means that the performance has to go up.”
((NARRATOR))
A 2023 report by the World Health Organization found that worldwide, about 1.4 million people die annually and 74 million have their lives shortened by diseases related to poor water access, sanitation and hygiene.
Environmentalists say that as climate change increases water scarcity, inventing alternatives such as the device used by Majik Water is crucial.
(( For radio: Daniel Wanjuki is a Kenyan environmentalist. ))
((Daniel Wanjuki, Environmentalist)) (( English 21secs)
''It is a practical process. The issue is the cost of learning such equipment because it is like keeping your fridge open overnight, in the morning there will be enough water for you to drink, so it is practical technology that we need to enhance.”
((NARRATOR ))
Kenya's water sector authorities are funding firms to produce water, especially in marginalized areas.
Willis Ombai is CEO of the government’s Water Sector Trust Fund. He tells VOA that currently, at least 42 percent of water delivered through traditional sources like pipes or wells is stolen or lost through leaks.
((Willis Ombai, Water Sector Trust Fund)) (( English 25 sec)
''They obstruct that water, they treat that water, upon treatment sometimes you find that the water does not finally reach the intended customers who are connected, it is either lost through physical leakages or commercially. Commercially [there] could be cartels or people who are conspiring to defraud the companies of those revenues.”
((NARRATOR))
Kenyan lawmakers are considering a bill that would privatize the water sector in hopes of spurring investment in the country’s water resources.
In the meantime, officials believe technologies like Majik Water can help boost access to clean water.
((Victoria Amunga, VOA News, Nairobi.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateApril 30, 2024 09:16 EDT
BylineVictoria Amunga
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English, US Agency for Global Media
