Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

FROM THE FIELD

Two communities in Kenya and Uganda gain water - and education for girls
10 Apr 2008 15:24:00 GMT
 Source: Church World Service-USA
Website: Website: http://www.churchworldservice.org

284081 logo
Going for water in western Kenya. CWS and its partners are helping communities plan for, install, and manage water and sanitation systems—essential for basic health and well-being.
Previous | Next
Going for water in western Kenya. CWS and its partners are helping communities plan for, install, and manage water and sanitation systems—essential for basic health and well-being.
Photo: CWS
Church World Service and Yang'at

"Seeing the girls empowered with education...girls fetching water near their homes and then going to school--that makes me happy," says Deborah Katina, Executive Director of Yang'at ("care" in the Pokot language), a Church World Service partner in western Kenya. "By empowering women and girls we're improving life for the whole community." Katina is a pioneer in the area of girls' rights to education--something the Church World Service Water for Life program is helping to make possible in West Pokot district, Kenya, and in a community across the border in Uganda--an arid region with a population of some 4,000 people.

It is the responsibility of women and girls in many parts of Africa to collect water for household use. This often means walking many miles to sites that are contaminated.

With help from Yang'at, families in two communities--one community in Kenya and the other in Uganda--are developing clean water resources, some for human consumption and others for livestock. A variety of water structures are used: shallow wells, cattle troughs, tanks, and sub-surface sand dams.

"I think God sent Church World Service to West Pokot because God knew His people were suffering there," says Katina. "When we go to the communities, we're not just talking about water."

With clean water close at hand, girls can attend school, and women can turn their attention to other profitable pursuits and improve their family's situation.

"Girls are learning their rights... to education and to not be 'circumcised.' The mothers have the heart to help their daughters; fathers often think just about the dowry," Katina continues. "Education is the key to everything."


[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Children

•  Water

•  Women

•  Working in Relief

MORE >>

Members

•  Church World Service-USA

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Two communities in Kenya and Uganda gain water - and education for girls
CWS

•  Sudan / Chad: Six children reunited with families in Sudan
ICRC - Switzerland

•  News feature: CWS, other NGOs expanding 'Sphere' of influence -- of quality in disaster response
CWS

•  Democratic Republic of the Congo: ICRC steps up efforts to help people in North and South Kivu
ICRC - Switzerland

•  Albania: Dorcas Aid Assists 300 Ammunition Victim Families
Dorcas Aid - Netherlands

MORE >>

Latest news

•  FEATURE-Kenya crisis strains human-animal balance in parks

•  Bangladesh Islamists clash with police, 50 hurt

•  Fifty-four Myanmar migrants suffocate in container

•  Five tourists killed in air crash near Peru's Nazca

•  GHANA: Postponed deportations of Liberians over refugee status

MORE >>

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

Related articles

Breaking stories
FEATURE-Kenya crisis strains human-animal balance in parks (1 minute ago)

Bangladesh Islamists clash with police, 50 hurt (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
MEDIAWATCH: Displaced Kenyans caught in deadlock (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
Two communities in Kenya and Uganda gain water - and education for girls (1 minute ago)

Blogs
Nepal's child soldiers trade rifles for tools (1 minute ago)

Maps
MAP: Weather hazards impacts assessment for Africa ( April 3- April 9,2008) (1 minute ago)


Country information

Topics
Children Water Women Working in Relief
Facts & figures
Kenya

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-04-10T133725Z_01_AFR50_RTRIDSP_2_KENYA-POLITICS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR50.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-04-10T123346Z_01_RAN209_RTRIDSP_2_THAILAND-MYANMAR-ILLEGALS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/RAN209.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-04-10T123054Z_01_RAN208_RTRIDSP_2_THAILAND-MYANMAR-ILLEGALS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/RAN208.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-04-10T122720Z_01_RAN222_RTRIDSP_2_THAILAND-MYANMAR-ILLEGALS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/RAN222.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-04-10T122631Z_01_RAN203_RTRIDSP_2_THAILAND-MYANMAR-ILLEGALS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/RAN203.htm

U.S. ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger speaks during a joint news conference with Kenya's opposition leader for Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Raila Odinga in Nairobi April 10, 2008. REUTERS/Antony Njuguna (KENYA) ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Thu Apr 10 15:33:41 2008