Learners and residents of Igembe North constituency, Meru County, can now breathe a sigh of relief after the area MP, Julius Taitumu, drilled a new borehole in one of the schools.
The sinking of the new borehole is symbolic since the region has no permanent river flowing through it, with women and children forced to spend a lot of time fetching water.
For years, water in many parts of Igembe North was not just a basic need but a daily struggle that shaped how families lived, how children learned and how women spent most of their time.
That reality is now beginning to change at Mwerongundu Primary School, where residents are celebrating a successful borehole drilling project launched after World Water Day celebrations were held at the school grounds by Igembe North MP Julius Taitumu.
The event, held under the theme “Water and Gender,” highlighted a long-standing reality in the constituency, a region with no permanent river flowing through it, where women and children have carried the heaviest burden of water scarcity.
At the centre of this transformation is Mwerongundu Primary School, where the newly accessed water is expected to serve not only learners but also nearby communities, including Kaulune village and Lukununu.
School head teacher Kawira Ntarangwi said the borehole will ease a heavy financial burden the school has carried for years.
She explained that the school had been forced to buy water at great cost, sometimes spending Sh3,000 on water that could not even last for two days.
“The shortage affected everything from cleaning and cooking to providing drinking water for children and water for livestock kept around the institution. With a reliable water source now available, the school is now looking beyond survival and into growth,” said the head teacher.
According to the headteacher, the school plans to establish a model farm using the water, an initiative expected to support the school’s feeding program by producing crops for a balanced diet while also equipping learners with practical farming skills they can apply at home and in their communities.
Residents say the water crisis in Igembe North has always been more than an inconvenience because it has deeply affected women and girls.
For many women, waking up each day meant not knowing whether they would find enough water to cook, clean, bathe their children, or sustain their households.
Teresa Nthama Charles said many families had endured years of hardship and that the intervention had brought visible relief.
“Women had often been forced to spend long hours looking for water, leaving them with little time for farming, caregiving or other productive work. The arrival of water will now allow families to farm and improve food security at home,” said Nthama.
Mary Ntarangwi said many households depended on expensive water delivered by lorries, an option that was often unreliable and unaffordable for ordinary families.
For residents like Grace Baariu, the pain of water scarcity was even worse for the poorest households.
She said many people who could not afford to buy water were left with very limited options, exposing families to hardship and forcing them to choose between water and other basic needs.
In many homes, the absence of water has also strained family roles and daily routines.
Mutuma Mbero, a resident of Lukununu, said women were often forced to leave home for long hours in search of water, leaving men behind to care for children and manage households under difficult circumstances.
“The situation had deeply affected family life, productivity and the well-being of children,” he said.
His remarks reflected the wider message of this year’s World Water Day theme: that the lack of water is not gender-neutral because it steals time, energy, dignity, and opportunity, especially from women and girls.
Girls in particular are among the biggest victims of water shortages in rural communities, often arriving late to school, missing class or being drawn into household water duties at the expense of education.
Residents now say the new borehole could significantly reduce the time wasted searching for water, allowing more time for school, farming, caregiving, and income-generating activities.
The successful drilling did not come easily.
Residents said water finally came out on Sunday evening after a week of hard work and sleepless nights by the contractor, who had to push through difficult drilling conditions to find the water source.
Sources at the site said an alternative drilling machine had to be brought in after the initial efforts were slowed down by the deep water table, underlining the technical challenge of finding underground water in the dry constituency.
Speaking during the event, Igembe North MP Julius Taitumu said the constituency has for years faced a major challenge with underground water, with many people believing the area was too dry to support reliable water projects.
He said the successful drilling at Mwerongundu had proven that water can indeed be found in Igembe North, provided proper equipment and expertise are used.
The borehole, drilled to a depth of over 320 metres, is expected to serve about 1,500 learners in both the primary and secondary school sections as well as surrounding households.
Taitumu said the project’s success should encourage more investment in water infrastructure across the constituency, adding that each ward should ideally have at least two boreholes to reduce the suffering residents have endured for years.
He said access to water would not only improve life at school and in homes but also increase productivity across the community.
Residents say one of the most important aspects of the project is that the water will not remain confined within the school.
According to local leaders and residents, plans are underway to distribute the water to neighbouring villages, with expectations that it could reach Kaulune and extend as far as Lukununu.
Residents believe that if the County government steps in to support piping and wider distribution, many more families could benefit.
Locals pointed out that while the national government can facilitate such projects, the distribution of water in rural areas largely falls under the county government’s mandate.
That cooperation, they say, will determine whether this borehole becomes a school-based relief point or the beginning of a broader water transformation in the area.
As the project gains praise on the ground, some residents used the occasion to hit back at critics who had doubted whether such a breakthrough was possible.
Ntarangwi Kaumbuthu said the borehole’s success had silenced naysayers who had long dismissed efforts to address water scarcity in the area.
He said the burden of water shortages had affected nearly every family and that any meaningful intervention deserved support rather than criticism.
Similarly, Ibrahim Kang’entu Muchiri challenged doubters to visit the area and witness the impact for themselves, saying water had now been piped to villages that had suffered for years.
His remarks reflected a sense of relief and vindication among residents who say they are finally seeing practical development touch their daily lives.
READ ALSO: Igembe North issues KSh45 million bursary to needy learners
The successful drilling comes just one week after the Cabinet Secretary for Water and Blue Economy marked World Water Day at Mwerongundu Primary School, bringing national attention to the constituency’s water crisis.
For residents, the symbolism is hard to miss.
A day meant to discuss water access and gender inequality has now been followed by a real intervention that directly addresses both.
In Igembe North, where there is no river flowing through the entire constituency, water has long dictated who studies, who farms, who cooks, who waits and who walks.
READ ALSO: Over 400 Kajiado pupils to benefit from KSh5 million borehole project
Now, for the first time in a long time, many residents say they can imagine a different future, one where children stay in school, women spend less time searching for water, families grow food at home, and communities reclaim hours once lost to thirst.
And in that future, residents say, water will not just quench thirst, it will also restore dignity.
By John Majau.
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