The Long Walk: Zainab’s Fight Against Water Scarcity in Tana River County
The sun was barely up when the people of Tana River County set out, yellow jerry cans in hand searching for water. The air was already heavy with the promise of another scorching day, and the path ahead burnt hard beneath their feet.
For years, this has been their reality, walking for miles in search of water, a burden carried mostly by women and children. For the community, it is not just about survival. It is the strive and hope for change.
A Community in Crisis
Tana River County is home to Kenya’s longest river, yet many residents still struggle with access to clean and safe water. While the river flows all year round, several challenges limit its use. In the lower Tana Delta, seawater intrusion makes the water salty and unsuitable for drinking or irrigation without treatment. Many communities also lack the infrastructure to extract, purify, or distribute water effectively, leaving them dependent on distant or unreliable sources.
Beyond infrastructure issues, safety concerns further restrict access. The river is home to many Nile crocodiles, posing a high risk to those fetching water, fishing, or herding livestock. Many residents avoid the riverbanks to prevent attacks.
Seasonal changes also make water access unpredictable as prolonged droughts cause significant drops in water levels, while heavy rains lead to flooding that displaces families and contaminates water sources. Upstream hydroelectric dams regulate water flow, sometimes reducing availability for downstream users. Additionally, pollution from human settlements and agricultural runoff affects water quality, making the untreated water unsafe for consumption.
“Sometimes, the river gets so dry that families must leave their homes, searching for water and pasture,” Zainab explains. “It is painful to see children forced to drop out of school because they must walk with their mothers to fetch water.”
A New Hope
Zainab had spent years witnessing the struggle of her people but everything changed when she became a Community Data Steward as part of a collective intelligence initiative led by UNDP Kenya. The program aimed to use local knowledge, technology, and mapping to help communities manage water resources more effectively.
At first, many villagers were sceptical. They had seen outsiders come and go, asking questions, taking notes, then leaving them with empty promises.
“People told me, ‘We’ve answered so many questions before, but nothing ever changes.’ It was difficult to convince them that this time, it was different,” Zainab recalls.
However, she persisted. Armed with knowledge and a deep love for her community, she walked from village to village, talking to elders, farmers, and women carrying heavy jerry cans. She listened, recorded their struggles and helped map out water points — some functional, others long abandoned — so that organizations working on water projects could use the data to make real, lasting change.
A major success was when her intervention brought the Kenya Red Cross and World Vision Kenya to Kipini East for a water allocation project. The map Zainab and her team had created showed exactly where the water shortages were most severe, enabling organizations to direct resources where they were needed most.
For the first time, the voices of her people were being heard — not just by those who lived through the struggle but also those who could do something about it.
Zainab’s work gave her hope. Looking forward, she dreams of a future where no woman in Tana River County has to wake up before dawn to fetch water.
“If we solve the water problem, everything will change. Women will have more time to work and take care of their families. Children will go to school instead of spending hours fetching water. Farmers will not have to watch their crops wither away.” she says.
She wants to see more training sessions so that others can become data stewards like her, and improved transport and communication services so that whenever someone finds a new water source, they can share the information quickly. Most of all, she wants the people of Tana River County to believe in change and collaborate towards a better future.
About the Author
Michael Kibuku is a Communications Professional at UNDP Kenya
