Kakuma, Kenya: Digging for Water

At the crack of dawn when women and children in other parts of the world wake up to take warm showers and sit down to breakfast, women and children of Kakuma in Turkana Region of Kenya wake up to a different exercise: to walk for miles in the hunt for water. Upon their arrival at the "water source" the real work begins, as they dig the ground for water in the essentially dry gulch that goes by the name of Tarach River.

Ironically, just by the banks of the valley where the women are now digging, Kakuma Township authorities, with the help of aid agencies, have put up mechanical water pumps where people can draw water. However, most of the women and children now digging in the sand cannot access the water because they cannot raise the five Kenya shillings (USD 6 cents) that they are required to pay, per jerry can, for the maintenance of the water system.