The residents of Matha-gesi village in Fafi constituency will now have a permanent source of water after the government through Kenya Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (KDRDIP) in Garissa completed drilling a borehole in the area.
According to Water Resources Authority’s Garissa Coordinator Abdi Omar, the borehole has a discharge of 30,000 litres of water per hour, which will be able to serve all the residents and their livestock sufficiently.
Speaking during the ‘test pumping’ of the borehole at Matha-gesi, Garissa KDRDIP’s project coordinator Mohamed Farah said that they have been funding drilling of more boreholes in Fafi, Dadaab and Lagdera sub counties to help the citizens access water especially during drought season.
“KDRDIP has so far funded drilling of 9 boreholes in Fafi Sub County. We have fully equipped 2 boreholes which are already in use and we are in the process of equipping the rest,” Farah said
“We are facing a severe drought in this region and I now hope that this borehole is going to alleviate water scarcity in this constituency,” he added.
Farah further said that KDRDIP is going to drill seven more boreholes in the sub county targeting areas that are lacking water to ensure the communities have sufficient and quality water for human consumption.
Area chief Aden Shidodama said that although most people had moved to other regions in search of water and pasture for their livestock, the presence of a water source in the area will bring them back.
He added that security will improve when residents set up permanent structures and settlements.
“If people settle here, we will be able to know our neighbours well because currently, with people moving in and out searching for resources we cannot tell who is an enemy. With permanent water base, we will have permanent settlement and that will improve our security,” Shidodama said
The chief urged the community to set up a management committee to take care of the water project and ensure that the borehole does not break down or is vandalized.
Fafi MP Abdikarim Mohamed thanked KDRDIP for initiating development projects in the constituencies, which have improved the livelihood of the people hosting refugees.
KDRDIP is a national government initiative, supported by the World Bank to improve lives of the refugee-hosting communities in the north of the country and is expected to be completed by April next year.
It is a Community Driven Development where communities identify, plan, implement, monitor and sustain their own development projects. The projects identified by the communities are integrated into the Community Development Plans before they receive funding.
By Erick Kyalo
