MYWO Partners with Equity Bank to roll out National water harvesting project

The National Chairperson of Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization Rahab Muiu address participants during a meeting to sensitize them on financial literacy.The Organization has partnered with Equity Bank to roll out national water harvesting Project-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo

By Dickson Odhiambo

March 10, 2021

MYWO Partners with Equity Bank to roll out National water harvesting project

The Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization has partnered with Equity Bank to roll out a National Water Harvesting Project.

National Chairperson of Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization Rahab Muiu says the project will benefit a number of women across the country in area that still face acute shortage of water.

Addressing the press in Kisumu today during the training by both MYWO and Equity Bank on sensitizing on financial literacy on acquiring affordable credit for water tanks, Muiu says the organization is very passionate about empowering grass root women and giving them dignity.

“It is based on this reason that MYWO launched the National Water Harvesting Project,” she says.

She says in actualizing her dream of giving women dignity and complementing the government efforts on the Big Four Agenda especially in food and security, the Vision 2030 on Water and Sanitation, SDG6 on Clean Water and Sanitation, MYWO in November 2019 in Partnership with Ndumu Tanks and Musoni Microfinance launched a National Water Harvesting Project aimed at ensuring that every woman in the grass root households in Kenya gets at least 10,000 Litres Water Tank to harvest rain water that is safe, clean, time saving and reliable for domestic use.

“This is going hand in hand with training women on Smart Agriculture towards achieving food security at the household level. The project was piloted in Kajiado and has since been scaled up to Homabay, Kakamega and Kilifi. The project was officially launched by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Forces, Uhuru Kenyatta on 15th December 2020 in State House Nairobi,” she adds.

She says the two institutions have embarked on training women on Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship Training, Digital Literacy and Business Development Services.

The MYWO National Chairperson adds that they started in Nyeri, Embu, Mbeere South, Kisii, Nyamira, Meru, Busia, Kakamega, Vihiga and Tharaka Nithi.

 “We did Siaya Yesterday, today were here in Kisumu, tomorrow my team shall be in Homabay & Muranga and in Migori on Friday. Next week we will be in Kwale, Mombasa and Kitui counties,” she further says

She has called upon leaders at the grass root level especially County Governments to consider improving their budgets and support women to acquire at least 10,000 litres waters tank in a slogan dubbed “Get Mtungi off women’s backs or heads.

Kenya experiences cycles of long droughts and dry spells that have increased over time.

According to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), rainfall in Kenya has significantly decreased in the past five years or so.

Women are mostly affected by the droughts. This translates to lack of access to clean water sanitation even as the World works to ensuring that SDG 6 on water in met by 2030.

Women in Kenya are regularly confronted with violence during their chores, like gathering water. 

Women encounter more than just violence when it comes to water, but are at the risk of contracting waterborne diseases.

 MYWO is a non-governmental organization which seeks to nurture and empower women through various capacity building interventions that promote women’s rights and sustainable livelihoods in Society. MYWO is a unique national women’s grassroot NGO with organizational structures in every administrative units in Kenya i.e., National, County, Sub-county and Ward levels.

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