Residents of informal settlements in Lamu county now have a cause to smile after a water provider build them 4 water

kiosks saving them long walks to boreholes whose water leaves them exposed to water borne diseases. The handing over of the Idaho water kiosk to the community was presided over by Langoni chief Mohamed Adnan Mudhir , the district water coordinator Mr. Dishon Mwamburi , the MD of Lamu Water and Sewerage Company (LAWASCO ) Mr. Paul Maina and Water Services Trust Fund officials. Other areas said to benefit from the initiative on the island include Wiyoni, Kihobe and the area around the KANU offices whose water kiosks are already operational. Women in these informal settlements are the major beneficiaries of the water kiosks since water haulage is considered their responsibility in the community as they travel for long distances in search of the precious commodity for cooking and drinking purposes. The scorching sun in this coastal region does not forgive these people as they move up and down with children strapped on their backs with jerricans full of water. We are very happy with these new water kiosks because they will ease the burden of water haulage for the women of this community, explained Ms Fatma Salim the chairlady of the Maendeleo ya Wanawake in Lamu. The community based project was funded by the Water Services Trust Fund under the mission hill water project which has been taking place on the island for over 9 months now at a cost of Kshs1.8 million. The 4 newly inaugurated water supply systems were installed as part of a community upgrading programme dubbed the Urban Projects Concepts which is tasked with the mandate of financing water sanitation projects in underserved areas. The various kiosks construction saw the involvement of both skilled and unskilled labour, with the inclusion of an engineer from the fund. Each of the water kiosks has a carrying capacity of 5,000 litres at any given time with a combined potential of serving upto 4,000 people the 4 kiosks are without a doubt a welcome relief to residents of the humid county. According to an official of the fund, Mr. Kennedy Wafula the project will help facilitate urban poor access adequate clean water at a point nearest to them and also at pocket friendly prices of just shs 2 per every 20 litre jerican. Water kiosks have emerged as a viable option in the area compared to ordinary boreholes which tend to be harder to construct in the area. The sand around the boreholes is not strong and tends to fall back in as you dig, explained Mr. Dishon Mwamburi.

The water kiosks also bring with them economic gains, whereby apart from just selling water the kiosk operator also gets to sell other foodstuff at the kiosk as approved by the department of public health. Area residents also save on time used to walk long distances in search of water to engage in other economically fruitful activities.