Kenya has a population of 46 million people – 33% of which are living below the poverty line of $1.90 a day. Only 30% of the population have access to basic sanitation services.
In Nairobi alone, 60% of the population (1.4 million people) live in informal settlements where the majority of people have no access or limited access to services.
Michelle
Thanks to a newly installed water kiosk, five year old Michelle and her family now have access to clean, safe drinking water. Previously, their only option was to collect unsafe water from Lake Naivasha, an 8km walk away.
Now, Michelle can collect water before school at her community kiosk situated just 200 metres from their house, and Michelle’s mother Ann earns an income from working at the water kiosk too.

Our work
In Nairobi, our programme provides a safe and affordable water supply to low-income communities. Working in partnership with key stakeholders such as local government, service providers and community members, we build infrastructure to deliver piped water as a service accessed through community water kiosks and tap stands.
This means local people can access a reliable clean water service that is available 24/7 and conveniently payable through ATMs.
We’re tackling a key challenge in these communities by running awareness campaigns to educate landlords and residents on the importance of using metered connections to ensure water safety and to reduce exploitation from cartels using illegal connections.
In Naivasha, an area around Kenya’s second largest freshwater lake, we’re improving water access and sanitation facilities in 10 local schools by building gender separated toilet blocks, hand washing stations and rainwater harvesting systems. This construction is supported by awareness raising campaigns in the school health clubs to deliver key messages on good handwashing practice and menstrual hygiene.