Water access and sustainable rural livelihoods: A c ase of Elementaita Division in Nakuru County, Kenya
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Date
2015-01-12Author
Cherutich, Jonah
Maitho, Timothy
Omware, Quinter
Language
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This study assessed water factors that impact susta
inable rural livelihoods in Elementaita Division, N
akuru County.
Problem of water access remains a multi-million cha
llenge for families in rural areas and this had to
be explained in scientific
research through assessing water issues that affect
the livelihoods. Households remain far from water
projects despite
interventions that governments, NGOs and other agen
cies have put in place. The study had the following
objectives; assess water
access factors and its impact on sustainable rural
livelihoods, evaluate management of water projects
and determine how it
impacts on sustainable livelihoods and to determin
e how socio-economic factors of water impact rural
livelihoods in
Elementaita Division. The study used sustainable li
velihood framework in its analysis and establishing
what areas of
interventions would be considered for the study. Th
is includes looking at assets, capital, livelihood
strategies, institutional
processes and vulnerability context. This was a des
criptive survey and questionnaires were generated o
n related areas of study.
Sampling for household was carried out through syst
ematic sampling. The study targeted a sample 195 ho
usehold heads, 1 water
users association also a Key Informant Interview (K
II) was carried out with District Water Officer (DW
O) and District Public
Health Officer (DPHO). Data was carried collected u
sing questionnaires, interviews and supplemented th
rough secondary data.
Data was analysed using inferential statistics by u
se of descriptive statistics. The findings were pre
sented in tables using tables.
From the findings water availability, quality and a
ffordability determine the level of households asse
ts in the community thereby
impact negatively or positively. Over 98% of the re
spondents reported that children walk long distance
s or do not attend school in
order to fetch water for the households, this impac
t negatively on their mental and physical developme
nt as well as their
education. There is need to carry out awareness on
the implication of using water of poor quality in t
he community as it may have
adverse health effects on the lives of the communit
y. Increasing awareness levels on rain water harves
ting by the community
need to be enhanced to improve on quality of water.
Parents should also ensure that their children acc
ess education and not
engage in child labour. The findings and recommenda
tions of the study are important to Ministry of Wat
er, researchers, all
stakeholders and the community of Elementaita Divis
ion and Nakuru County in enhancing water access and
addressing some of
the challenges identified.
Citation
Cherutich, Jonah., Maitho, Timothy., Omware, Quinter (2015). Wa ter Access and Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: A Case of Elementaita Division in Nakuru County, Kenya. International Journal of Science, Technology and So ciety. 3(1), pp. 9-23.Publisher
University of Nairobi
Collections
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) [10387]