WHO
WASH protects health and dignity
WHO identifies safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene as foundations for health, well-being, dignity, livelihoods, and resilient communities.
Read WHO guidance →Arid and Semi Arid Program
ASAL & Rural WASH
Water security that helps rural communities endure, adapt, and thrive.
Maji na Ufanisi works with communities in Kenya’s arid, semi-arid, and rural areas to strengthen access to safe water, dignified sanitation, practical hygiene, and climate-resilient local systems.
In water-scarce communities, every reliable source can protect health, livelihoods, dignity, and time.
Why rural WASH matters
Water scarcity is not only an environmental problem. It shapes daily life.
In rural and ASAL communities, families may travel long distances for water, depend on unsafe sources, or lose access when drought, infrastructure failure, or seasonal change disrupts supply.
The World Health Organization recognises safe water, sanitation, and hygiene as essential to health, dignity, livelihoods, school attendance, and resilient communities. UNICEF also notes that rural children and people affected by climate change face a greater risk of being cut off from safe WASH services.
A dependable water system can reduce disease, save hours of walking, protect livestock and household livelihoods, improve school participation, and help a community face the next dry season with greater confidence.
Credible global and national context
Our approach is grounded in recognised WASH and resilience priorities.
Maji na Ufanisi combines local knowledge with credible guidance from global institutions working on public health, water security, climate resilience, and sustainable development.
UNICEF
Rural communities face deeper exclusion
UNICEF highlights that children in rural areas and climate-affected places are more likely to lack safe water and sanitation.
Explore UNICEF WASH →UN
Clean water and sanitation for all
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 calls for universal and equitable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.
View SDG 6 →World Bank
Kenya’s ASAL reality
World Bank resources document that more than 80% of Kenya’s land is classified as arid or semi-arid, underlining the need for resilient systems.
Read the ASAL report →The realities communities face
In rural and ASAL areas, one failed water source can affect an entire community.
Drought and unreliable rainfall
Long dry periods can reduce surface water, weaken shallow sources, and increase pressure on households and livestock.
Long distances to water
Women and children may spend hours collecting water, reducing time for education, care, and livelihoods.
Unsafe sources
When protected sources fail, households may depend on contaminated surface water or poorly maintained alternatives.
Inadequate sanitation
Limited toilets, poor waste management, and open defecation increase health risks and reduce dignity and safety.
Broken infrastructure
Systems can stop working when spare parts, technical skills, financing, or clear maintenance responsibility are missing.
Unequal access
Remote households, pastoralist groups, women, older people, and persons with disabilities can be excluded from services.
Our integrated ASAL and rural WASH programme
Rural sanitation Hygiene and public health Governance and accountability Livelihood and resilience linkages
From water access to community ownership—a complete system for resilience.
Climate-resilient water access
Water systems designed for difficult environments.
We begin with local water realities: source reliability, distance, seasonal demand, water quality, livestock needs, household use, climate risk, and the capacity to operate and maintain the system.
Depending on context and technical assessment, solutions may include source protection, rainwater harvesting, storage, rehabilitation, distribution improvements, water conservation, and stronger community management.
Water-source assessment
Safe storage and distribution
Climate and drought risk planning
Water-quality protection
Dignified sanitation that protects families and water sources.
We support locally appropriate sanitation approaches that reduce exposure to human waste, discourage open defecation, protect groundwater and surface water, and improve privacy and safety.
Household sanitation
Inclusive toilet design
Safe waste management
Community behaviour change
Practical habits that turn infrastructure into better health.
We promote handwashing, safe water handling, household cleanliness, food hygiene, and disease-prevention practices through locally relevant education and community leadership.
Handwashing promotion
Safe water handling
Household hygiene
Community health messaging
Local systems that keep water flowing after the project ends.
We strengthen water committees, clarify user responsibilities, improve financial accountability, support maintenance planning, and encourage meaningful participation by women and underserved groups.
Water-user committees
Transparent local financing
Maintenance responsibilities
Inclusive decision-making
Water that strengthens more than household survival.
Where appropriate, reliable water can support livestock care, small-scale food production, household enterprises, and other activities that strengthen resilience without undermining domestic water needs.
Livelihood-sensitive planning
Efficient water use
Household resilience
Conflict-sensitive access
Designed for long-term resilience
A borehole, tank, or pipeline is only sustainable when the community can protect it.
Rural WASH investments can fail when systems are built without realistic plans for operation, repairs, water quality, financing, drought, and inclusive governance.
Maji na Ufanisi places sustainability at the centre—from the first assessment to post-project monitoring—so communities are better prepared to manage assets, respond to breakdowns, and make fair decisions during scarcity.
Climate risk assessmentUnderstanding drought, rainfall variability, source pressure, and future demand.
Local technical capacityBuilding practical skills for routine operation, basic repair, and timely escalation.
Maintenance financingCreating transparent and realistic systems for collecting and managing user contributions.
Water-quality safeguardsProtecting sources, storage, handling, and community health.
Inclusive governanceEnsuring women and underserved groups influence decisions that affect them.
Monitoring and adaptationUsing evidence and community feedback to identify problems and improve performance.
How we implementStep 01Understand the contextAssess water sources, climate pressures, sanitation, health risks, access barriers, livelihoods, and existing local systems. Step 02Listen to the communityEngage women, men, young people, pastoralist groups, persons with disabilities, leaders, and local institutions. Step 03Co-design the solutionSelect feasible options, clarify responsibilities, protect water quality, and plan for affordability and maintenance. Step 04Implement transparentlyCoordinate technical work, community contribution, procurement, safeguarding, supervision, and clear communication. Step 05Build local capacityTrain committees, operators, households, and community champions in governance, hygiene, record-keeping, and repairs. Step 06Monitor and strengthenTrack functionality, use, quality, inclusion, finances, maintenance, and changing climate or community needs.
A disciplined journey from local need to lasting ownership.
What partnership can achieve
One resilient WASH system can create benefits across generations.
Safer water
Households gain more dependable access to protected water for essential daily needs.
Time restored
Reduced collection time can support school attendance, care, rest, and livelihoods.
Better health
Safe water, sanitation, and hygiene can reduce exposure to preventable disease.
Stronger resilience
Communities are better positioned to manage scarcity and protect household well-being.
Greater dignity
Women and girls benefit from safer, closer, and more private WASH services.
Fairer governance
Transparent community systems support accountable decisions and equitable access.
Longer functionality
Maintenance planning and local skills help protect infrastructure investments.
Measurable progress
Monitoring creates evidence for learning, accountability, and future improvement.
Partner with Maji na Ufanisi
Help a rural community secure water, protect dignity, and prepare for the next dry season.
Your partnership can support climate-resilient water access, safe sanitation, hygiene education, inclusive governance, local maintenance, and stronger community systems in Kenya’s rural and ASAL areas.