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SITUATION UPDATE: WATER RATIONING IN KENYA |
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by Yvonne Wabai | 12-07-2017 03:13
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Kenya has been experiencing drought for a while now, since last year actually. Due to global warming and climate change, our seasons have shifted and it is expected that we will be having a continuous cycle of extensive floods followed by prolonged drought and then extensive floods followed by prolonged drought and so on and so forth.
For example, before this drought begun, we had disastrous flooding. Lives were lost, property was damaged, infrastructure was destroyed, and farmlands were ruined. The drought came immediately after the flood season, and we haven't had adequate rainfall since mid-last year. We normally have the short rains season from September to December and the long rains season from March to June. Both rain seasons failed, as meteorologists had warned. Our water reservoirs are at a record low, and as a result of this, we've been having our water rationed for about 6 months now. The schedule has gotten tighter and tighter and there are people who have literally had no access to tap water in the last 6 months. More and more boreholes have been dug, but even that cannot sustain the population. Currently, there have been reports of recent sporadic rains in the rural areas, but still not enough as needed. This drought, combined the floods preceding it, has really affected our water security as well as our food security. It is clear that we need to move away from reactive measures and into preventative measures. We need to trap and store flood water. We need to desalinize sea water for it to be used for domestic and other purposes. We need to learn to use water and other resources sparingly, and to reuse and recycle them more. We need to renovate our infrastructures to make sure they can withstand floods. We need to look for floodproof farming methods and we need to invest in different irrigation methods. More importantly, we need to sensitize the public on the harsh reality ahead and how to deal with it. We also need to sort out wealth inequality because poor people are doubly disadvantaged in situations such as these. I have been holding discussions with people from different walks of life in a bid to create awareness on the situation at hand, and I am planning on working with the various online campaigns, as well as offline ones, that are already ongoing to the same end.
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7 Comments
Thank you everyone for your wishes and prayers. Creating awareness is the first step to solving this issue.
Posted 22-07-2017 20:04
Yvonne, you have highlighted a burning issue. Climate change has led to such unusual cycles of droughts and floods, wreaking havoc in developing and underdeveloped nations. As you rightly pointed out reactive measures need to be replaced with preventative measures to nip the problem in the bud. Good luck with your efforts and I wish you success with your awareness drives. I am sure all of us at Tunza Egen hope and pray with you for Kenya to be blessed with water to fulfill the needs of the nation.
Posted 21-07-2017 23:18
Yvonne, thank you for your report. Every time I hear about people having difficulties with water it is really sad. There are many things we can do. For example, organizing discussions like what you did could be one. I wish my best for Kenyans.
Posted 19-07-2017 16:03
Hi Yvonne, thanks for sharing your report!
Since global climate changes are making our climate condition even more extreme, flooding control and measures for drought are critical today. I admire your efforts to organize people and make change. Wish you all the bests!
Posted 15-07-2017 23:53
You do so much. You are well done. Good luck to you
Posted 14-07-2017 01:37
I really appreciate the salient points you've made and the efforts you are making to help the situation. As an adaptive strategy your farmers could practice conservation agriculture which would help them to scale up yields and help the food security issue.
Thumbs up Yvonne.
Posted 12-07-2017 16:14
It's really sad to know about the hardship being faced by Kenyans in severe water rationing due to dry spells and floods. I appreciate your efforts in creating awareness. Agree with you that nations need to be more proactive than reactive and governments need to be prepared for such harsh conditions.Thanks for sharing. Take care of yourself and stay hopeful and positive. May God bless Kenya with adequate rains to overcome water shortage (and linked food scarcity).
Posted 12-07-2017 06:19