“I am a mother of 6 children. Due to the need for water in the household, I used to wake up at 5am and go to the river to fetch water with other women since my children were small. One of my greatest fear was being attacked by a crocodile while fetching water. Therefore we took turns in fetching water while the others threw stones into the river to scare any crocodiles that might be lurking around the river. There have been women and children who have been attacked and killed by crocodiles in the river. With the solar pump, I have a tap of water outside my house and access water easily for use. I do not get tired from walking to the river every day to fetch water and am not at risk any more to crocodile attacks. The amount of money I pay for water has also reduced from Ksh.500 to only Ksh.200 per month which is affordable. I have more time to take care of my young children and also carry out the business of selling clothes which generates income to cater for my needs at home.”

“I am in charge of the operation of the machines in the solar pump is located. I usually take care of the maintenance of the machines and make sure that I switch on the pump every day at 4pm and close it 6pm so that all the members of community can access water. I work closely with the community members and the members of the Nanighi Water Users Committee to ensure that any repairs of the pipes that leak are done immediately so as to reduce water wastage that translates to loss of revenue. The solar pump is easier to operate and the maintenance costs are very low. We used to spend Ksh.16, 000 every 6 months for maintenance and Ksh.21, 600 every month on fuel. We now only use Ksh.2, 500 for emergency fuel for the diesel pump just in case the solar pump is overwhelmed due to lack of enough power on cloudy days. The only challenge is the pipe bursts which are caused by people or vehicles or old age. We are in the process of replacing the old pipes to reduce leakages.”