For water-poor Kenyans, swipe of asmart card brings gallons of relief

A boy returns home carrying a 20-liter container of fresh water, which cost 5 Kenyan shillings (5.5 U.S. cents) to fill from a

private tap in the street, in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, on March 14, 2015. Photo: AP/Sayyid Azim. BOTTOM: A

new business makes it easier to access water through an ATM. Photo: UNFCCC/Chris McMorrow

In Nairobi, Kenya, water is big business. And the local sellers are not happy with fruit seller

Mercy Muiruri. The local vendors operate almost like a mafia or cartel. They worked to

keep prices high on purpose.

At the end of last year, Muirui found a different solution to washing fruits before making

them into a salad for her customers — a water ATM. Now she buys her water from a

machine.

By Daniel Wesangula, The Guardian, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.14.16

Word Count 801

“Now I know the water I use is safe and from a trusted source. Even my customers will be

happy,” she says.

Machines Dissolve Uncertainty

Muiruri has been operating food businesses in one of Kenya’s most populous slums,

Mathare, for nearly two decades. Until recently, she used water from local sellers whenever

she needed it.

“But I could not vouch for its safety. I, like many of my friends, never knew the source of

that water. It got to us in 20-liter (5-gallon) plastic containers, and we used it,” she says.

Muiruri is part of a water revolution spreading across Kenyan slums. Last year a

partnership between Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, the city’s main water

distribution company, and Grundfos, a Danish water engineering firm, resulted in the

installation of water vending machines. The machines are expected to transform the way

slum residents access water. For a long time, populations have been at the mercy of

unpredictable markets and an unreliable climate. There were no guarantees around having

clean water.

Good For Health, Finances

To buy clean water at one of the new ATMs, users load points onto smart cards. By a

simple swipe of their smart card, water is released from the main storage and into a waiting

container.

The water reaches the ATM through over 18 km (11 miles) of newly laid pipes. The pipes

are connected from the city’s main supply lines. The supply lines receive treated water

from Ndakaini Dam, the main reservoir for the city’s more than 3 million residents.

“Apart from knowing we are drinking and using safe water, the vending machines have

also helped us cut costs,” Muiruri says. “I can put the difference saved back into my

business.”

The daily income in a slum household in Kenya is just over a dollar, and the average home

uses around 100 liters (26 gallons) of water a week. The water vendors operating in the

slum would charge 50 Kenyan shillings (Sh) for a 20 liter (5 gallon) container of water,

equal to 50 cents. With the introduction of the ATMs, weekly spending on water in Mathare

has been reduced. It has dropped from Sh250 ($2.50) to Sh2.50 (2.5 cents).

Residents Are In Charge

The water company has been trying for years to develop sustainable solutions to water

supply problems in slums.

“Initially, our pipes were vandalized by these same cartels that sold water to residents at

exorbitant prices,” says Mbaruku Vyakweli, the company’s communications officer. “Now,

all we need is a safe and secure area, agreed on by the residents, and we supply the

water from our own dams and reservoirs. Our prices are constant because the product is

available throughout. Plus, the water ATMs are run and monitored by residents; they own

them and therefore take better care of them.”

Unlike the cartels, which take advantage of residents, the ATMs in Mathare are managed

by a village chairman in association with a committee of residents. The smart cards are

given out to residents for free. The residents then load them with as much money as they

want from a Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company outlet.

"Life Has Become Much Easier"

These outlets are spread around the slum, where some 200,000 people live. And for safety

and convenience, they are located in central and well-lit areas, such as near floodlights

and along the main streets of Mathare, making them easily accessible day and night.

The ATMs and new water sources will benefit residents' health. In the middle of last year, a

cholera outbreak swept through the slum and other surrounding areas, resulting in two

deaths. The cramped slum conditions combined with poor sanitation – including

unhygienic water – contributed to the spread of the disease. At the time, Médecins Sans

Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), a humanitarian group, was recording 200 new

cholera cases every week.

Muiruri has only been using her smart water card for four months. Now the memory of

dealing with water brokers and the constant worrying over her family’s health now seems

distant.

“Life has become much easier. I can budget and I am also saving on other costs because

I spend less on charcoal or kerosene to boil my drinking water. It has already been

treated,” she says.

Nairobi’s water company now hopes to bring the machines to other places where access

to clean water is an everyday problem.

Quiz

1 Read the section "Residents Are In Charge." Which of the following conclusions can be drawn

from this section?

(A) The water company has previously set up water machines in other poor

countries.

(B) The water company is mostly made up of people who are not originally from

Kenya.

(C) The water company has had to overcome some challenges to create a

successful product.

(D) The water company had to convince residents that the water machines

would be worth their time and money.

2 Read the section "Good For Health, Finances." Select the paragraph that BEST supports the

idea that the machines are supplying safe, cheap water.

3 Which of the following details from the article is MOST important to the development of a main

idea?

(A) For a long time, populations have been at the mercy of unpredictable

markets and an unreliable climate.

(B) The supply lines receive treated water from Ndakaini Dam, the main

reservoir for the city’s more than 3 million residents.

(C) With the introduction of the ATMs, weekly spending on water in Mathare has

been reduced.

(D) Unlike the cartels, which take advantage of residents, the ATMs in Mathare

are managed by a village chairman in association with a committee of

residents.

4 Read the following summary of the article. It is incomplete.

Two water companies have partnered up to install water vending machines across Kenya. The

machines have helped residents have access to clean and safe water.

Which sentence should be added to complete the summary?

(A) In addition, gangs once controlled residents' access to water.

(B) In addition, residents have smart water cards to access the machines.

(C) In addition, residents have previously gotten sick from unclean water.

(D) In addition, the machines have allowed residents to spend less money on

water.