Nairobi County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya. It is the third smallest, yet the most populous of the counties, with an estimated population of about 3 million. The City of Nairobi which is also the capital of Kenya is in Nairobi County. Nairobi County is divided into 9 administrative Districts. They are Westlands, Dagoretti, Kasarani, Langata, Starehe, Kamukunji, Embakasi, Njiru and Makadara.
Kibera in Langata District is located 7 kilometers from the Nairobi City Centre. Once erroneously touted as the largest slum in Africa, the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census reports Kibera’s population as 170,070, contrary to previous estimates of one or two million people. Most of Kibera slum residents live in extreme poverty and lack access to basic services, including electricity, running water, and medical care. Diseases caused by poor hygiene are prevalent.
Toi Market, which sits on a three-acre plot on Suna Road, off Ngong Road, is famous to many Nairobi residents for the business of clothes and vegetables. Despite it being located on the outskirts of Kibera slum, it is patronized by buyers from all walks of life. Recently, Toi Market was a beneficiary of a Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) program that was initiated in 2020, and that aims to make clean water more accessible to resource poor areas of Nairobi County.
And so, on the Eighth Day of January 2021, W4W Drilling Crew mobilized to Toi Market and within a few days, drilled a 300m borehole. Three aquifers were hit at 130 metres, 180 metres and 285 metres. Test pumping results ascertained a 5,200 l/hr yield. This project was especially important because of the prevailing Coronavirus pandemic that requires heightened awareness of hygiene through frequent hand washing among other measures.
Once again W4W lived up to its motto of providing “Dignity in Life” to the residents of Kibera as well as the buyers and sellers at Toi Market.
