Children drinking water from a burst pipe. Photo/mtaaniinsight.wordpress.com
A study by Twaweza East Africa has outlined the struggles Kenyans in rural areas go through in an attempt to access clean water.According to the Sauti Za Wananchi research released on Tuesday in Nairobi, one in four rural households need an hour or more to collect water.It was revealed that one in five (20%) households spend between 30 and 60 minutes while slightly more than half (54%) are able to get their water within a 30-minute period.In urban areas, majority of households (78%) are able to collect water within 30 minutes, while 12% of households spend an hour or more.It also emerged that seven in ten (71%) Kenyan households, the responsibility for collecting water is borne by either the female head of the household.However, in two in ten (21%) households, the responsibility falls on children. There is no significant difference in these figures between urban and rural areas.The research which was released a day ahead of the World Water Day revealed that among those who use rainwater as either their main or a supplementary source, 65% state that the collected water lasted for one week or less.