Italian Water Project Pump Life to Remote Villages in Magarini

By Charo Banda

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

The chronic water crisis that has plagued Chasimba area of Magarini Subcounty in Kilifi County has finally come to an end.

After years of trekking long distances in search of clean water, residents from five villages will now benefit from a new water project that promises to ease their previous daily struggles.

The project, estimated at Ksh400,000 is financed by Italian donors in partnership with the Office of the Magarini Ward representative.

It is aimed to address the acute water shortage that has disrupted lives and livelihoods in the area for decades.

For years, Chasimba area has suffered from lack of clean and safe water and the project will go a long way to resolve the crisis.

Residents, mostly women and school-going children had been forced to trek more than 10 kilometers daily to fetch water from seasonal rivers, shallow wells, and unsafe boreholes.

The journey is not only exhausting but also dangerous, with many risking attacks by wild animals and losing valuable time that could be spent on farming, business, or education.

“We have suffered for too long,” said one resident, a mother of five from Kadzandani village. “Sometimes we leave home at 4 a.m. and return after midday with just one 20-liter jerrican. Our children miss school because they have to help fetch water. Clean water has been a dream for us.”

Community members say the lack of water has crippled development in the region. Schools have recorded high absenteeism, especially among girls who are often tasked with fetching water before class.

Small-scale farming and livestock keeping — the economic backbone of Chasimba — have also suffered, with crop failures and animal deaths linked to water scarcity.

Speaking during the commissioning of the first phase of the project, Magarini ward representative Paul Charo confirmed that the initiative was already underway.

“This project is worth around Ksh350,000. We have already procured three 10,000-liter water tanks that will be installed at strategic points across the five villages,” he said.

“This is just the beginning. Our goal is to ensure that every household has access to clean water within a reasonable distance.”

The representative added that his office was actively working on long-term solutions to the water crisis.

He noted that they are engaging more donors within the county government and the national government to expand water infrastructure, including drilling boreholes, laying pipelines, and setting up water kiosks in villages still grappling with acute shortages.

“We are calling upon more well-wishers, the county, and the national government to join us. Water is life, and no resident of Magarini should be forced to drink unsafe water or walk 10 kilometers to survive,” he emphasized.

The project is expected to serve over 2,000 residents across the five villages, thus cutting down the distance and time spent in search of water.

For many, it signals the first tangible step toward restoring dignity and improving public health in Chasimba.

Health officials in Magarini have long warned that consumption of contaminated water from open sources has contributed to frequent outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, and dysentery.

With the new tanks and a promise of more permanent solutions, residents are hopeful that the burden of disease will also ease.

As the taps run dry in many parts of Kilifi due to prolonged drought and climate change, Chasimba’s story offers a glimpse of how partnerships between local leaders and international donors can deliver life-changing interventions.

For now, the people of Chasimba wait — not with jerricans on their heads, but with cautious optimism that the water flowing into their new tanks will mark the end of a decades-long thirst.