By Isaiah Esipisu
Residents of Katitika village in the Eastern part of Kenya have always stared into the azure blue skies. Pondering and wondering of when the heavens will release the elusive rains. They need water to plant food-crops, harvest some for drinking and domestic use, and restore their shallow wells.
The entire Kitui district is dry. Really, dry. The last drop of the rain was seen three years ago.
Residents of Katitika village in the Eastern part of Kenya have always stared into the azure blue skies. Pondering and wondering of when the heavens will release the elusive rains. They need water to plant food-crops, harvest some for drinking and domestic use, and restore their shallow wells.
The entire Kitui district is dry. Really, dry. The last drop of the rain was seen three years ago.
Yet for their survival, residents of Katitika village have to trek 11 kilometres to the seasonal Kaiti River, where they sink a well at its base to tap the underground water.
But last month, technology came to their rescue, thanks to the mobile telephony network coverage in the area. They watched with excitement as the Kenyan Minister for Water and Natural Resources Hon Charity Ngilu officially opened a water pump that is fully operated by technology, within the village.
Safaricon, a communication company in collaboration with Grundfos Lifelink, a division of the Danish pump maker Grundfos Group, had developed a solar-powered, pay-for-use water vending system using an M-PESA payment method.
M-PESA is an innovative money transfer system using a mobile phone. The system, which allows cash to be deposited on a phone, can be used to pay bills, buy goods and services and transfer cash from one person to another within the network coverage area.
To access the water, residents have been supplied with smart cards, which are charged using the M-PESA. The solar-powered borehole is activated using the card, which allows water to flow until either the card is removed or the user’s account runs out of credit.
“For the system to operate, we have connected the water pump to 18 strong solar panels, which supply power to the battery bank all day long. 14 of them supply power for the pumping system, and the remaining four provide energy for other electronic systems,” said Edgar Kaniu, the lead engineer of the system.
“This is a blessing to our community. It is unbelievable that we can now access water very easily from a village pump. This is amazing,” said Wanza Mwende, as she watched the site tirelessly with hands- akimbo.
According to Kaniu, the project is owned and will always be run by the community members of Katitika village. However, they will have to pay off the cost of construction for a full ownership.
“The means of payment is simple. The credit card is customised in a manner that every 20 litres drown charges three Kenya shillings. In other words, one US dollar can fetch 500 litres of clean water, per litre billing,” said Kaniu.
The money is electronically received by the Safaricom Company, and is used to pay off the $41,000 loan.
So far, the pump serves 6000 litres on average, generating close to $360 a month. “Once they finish paying the loan, they can decide whether they want the cost of a litre of water to be lowered, or remain the same so that they use it as a business venture and collect profits.
Similar facilities have been constructed in other parts of the Eastern province including Yata, Ruiru, and Kalukuni.
But last month, technology came to their rescue, thanks to the mobile telephony network coverage in the area. They watched with excitement as the Kenyan Minister for Water and Natural Resources Hon Charity Ngilu officially opened a water pump that is fully operated by technology, within the village.
Safaricon, a communication company in collaboration with Grundfos Lifelink, a division of the Danish pump maker Grundfos Group, had developed a solar-powered, pay-for-use water vending system using an M-PESA payment method.
M-PESA is an innovative money transfer system using a mobile phone. The system, which allows cash to be deposited on a phone, can be used to pay bills, buy goods and services and transfer cash from one person to another within the network coverage area.
To access the water, residents have been supplied with smart cards, which are charged using the M-PESA. The solar-powered borehole is activated using the card, which allows water to flow until either the card is removed or the user’s account runs out of credit.
“For the system to operate, we have connected the water pump to 18 strong solar panels, which supply power to the battery bank all day long. 14 of them supply power for the pumping system, and the remaining four provide energy for other electronic systems,” said Edgar Kaniu, the lead engineer of the system.
“This is a blessing to our community. It is unbelievable that we can now access water very easily from a village pump. This is amazing,” said Wanza Mwende, as she watched the site tirelessly with hands- akimbo.
According to Kaniu, the project is owned and will always be run by the community members of Katitika village. However, they will have to pay off the cost of construction for a full ownership.
“The means of payment is simple. The credit card is customised in a manner that every 20 litres drown charges three Kenya shillings. In other words, one US dollar can fetch 500 litres of clean water, per litre billing,” said Kaniu.
The money is electronically received by the Safaricom Company, and is used to pay off the $41,000 loan.
So far, the pump serves 6000 litres on average, generating close to $360 a month. “Once they finish paying the loan, they can decide whether they want the cost of a litre of water to be lowered, or remain the same so that they use it as a business venture and collect profits.
Similar facilities have been constructed in other parts of the Eastern province including Yata, Ruiru, and Kalukuni.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment