Water is an essential part of our life. However, access to clean water is a common problem in developing countries, especially in rural areas. Families in rural areas usually have no pipe water connection at home and have to rely on rain water. Some have to collect water from the river, well, or natural spring. In Matungu district, in western Kenya, women and children have the responsibility to provide water for their household. Usually they walk a long distance to collect water, carrying a plastic bucket or jerry can on their heads. Women and children often walk two to five kilometres, carrying between five and 20 litres of water depending on their age and health. Sometimes buckets break or fall on the way, forcing the person to go back and make another trip. As a result, women and children often suffer back or neck injuries and children often attend school late or miss classes.
For a region with poor infrastructure like Matungu, provision of Q Drums is a simple solution to this problem. The Q Drum is a durable and rollable plastic water container that can transport 50 litres of water in just one trip. In May 2012, Kopernik started a partnership with Yaya Education Trust (YET) - a local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Matungu district in western Kenya. Through this partnership, Kopernik and YET have distributed 52 Q Drums to poor households in Matungu. The Q Drums were sold at subsidised price of KSH 1,000 (US12.50) and the households can pay for the Q Drum in weekly installments of KSH 50 (US$0.60).
A woman in Matungu who purchased a Q Drum from Yaya Education Trust (YET)
The project has made a real impact on people's lives: the Q Drum has reduced time collecting water, reduced backache problems and helped children to attend school on time. Brenda Akinyi, a 12 year old student, said: “Since the Q Drum is easy to pull and carries 50 litres of water, I can now make only two trips a day to provide water for my grandparents. I used to miss classes in order to fetch water but now my school attendance is regular”.
Brenda Akinyi transports water for her grandparents using a Q Drum
Based on the positive response from Q Drum users, and demand for more of this technology, we are moving forward with a second phase of this project to make more Q Drums available in western Kenya. Stay tuned for more blogs on this exciting project.
