My Story with Water: Struggling, Learning, and Acting

Story by: NORAH JOSEPH

Location: KENYA

Norah is a journalist (precisely a 4th year student at Chika University, doubling as a presenter at the University radio station) and a storyteller passionate about amplifying human-centered stories, with a strong focus on women and girls' empowerment and community development. Through media and digital storytelling, she uses her voice to inspire advocacy, resilience and social change.

Growing up in Kitui County, I’ve witnessed firsthand how water or the lack of it shapes lives. For months, the rivers run dry, and the boreholes that should sustain communities are often empty. Families walk long distances, carrying heavy jerry cans under the scorching sun, just to have a single bucket of water for cooking, cleaning, and drinking.

Water scarcity is not just about thirst. It affects our health, our food, and our dreams. Crops fail, livestock die, and children miss school because they spend hours fetching water. Disease spreads easily when water is scarce and sanitation is compromised. I’ve seen neighbors fall ill from drinking unsafe water, and it pains me to know how preventable this suffering is.

But there is hope. Our community started small projects rainwater harvesting, protecting natural springs, and creating shared water storage tanks. Slowly, we began to understand that every drop counts, and that caring for water is caring for life itself.

To me, conserving water is not a choice it’s a responsibility. I want the next generation to grow up in a Kenya where water flows freely, where communities are resilient to drought, and where every child knows the joy of a clean, safe sip from the tap. I believe our stories, small as they may seem, can inspire action, policy change, and hope.

Water is life. And it’s time we protect it, together.