A mess of PVC piping runs through a trash and sewage trench. Most of the piping in Kibera is plastic due to high rates of theft of metal pipes. Pipes often run though untreated
sewage and beneath trash dumping sites. The pipes break frequently, compromising water quality down the line and leading to high instances of disease like Typhoid and Cholera.
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Some, both in and out of Kibera, get large shipments of water from trucks like these, dispatched by the Nairobi Water Company when connection to the main grid is difficult or
undesirable. This method of delivery is often prohibitively expensive, as water must be bought in bulk. Per liter, however, it is much cheaper than buying by the jerry can.
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A girl fills up jerry cans at a community latrine and water point recently constructed by Umande, a Kibera-based community
organization. The burden of finding water falls disproportionately on women – especially young girls.
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Jerry cans hold people’s place in line as they wait for the water to come on. This part of Kibera is currently experiencing
a major water shortage. Small community pipes like these may not have water for days at a time.
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Jerry cans for sale in Kisumu Ndogo in Kibera. Nearly everyone in must fetch water from community pipes, carry it home and store it in containers.
Kiberans pay 10–100 times what wealthier Kenyans with in-home taps pay for the same amount of water.
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A young woman waits for water at Kibera's deepest borehole (300m). She and others have been waiting
for more than two hours and will have to walk home with her water in the dark, if she gets any.
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Hundreds wait for water at the Makina mosque in Kibera. The electricity went out moments earlier, meaning many
will be forced to go in search of an alternate source of water as night approaches, or go home without.
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Lynn Seru is one of many young women forced to go in search of water, frequently after dark. Often walking as many as
5 kilometers to find water and then waiting hours in line, she and others like her face increased risk of sexual violence.
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A man carries a jerry can of water through the Makina neighborhood in Kibera
at dusk. Typically this duty is reserved for women, often girls as young as five.
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