Three years ago, in 2022, life in Kahandale Village, Galgadud Region, revolved around the daily struggle to find water. Women and girls bore the heaviest burden, walking long distances under the scorching sun to fetch water from unreliable sources. The long treks not only consumed precious hours that could have been spent in school or on other household needs but also exposed them to protection risks and conflict at the overcrowded communal water points. Additionally, the lack of water combined by climatic shocks including prolonged droughts threatened their very way of life as their livestock weakened, herd sizes declined, and economic shocks became harder to withstand.
WASH infrastructure installed in Kahandale Village
That year, Nomadic Assistance for Peace and Development (NAPAD) in partnership with Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF) installed a hybrid solar-powered water supply system in the village. The system, supported by a 50 m³ elevated storage tank, a tapstand with multiple taps running simultaneously, and watering troughs for animals, brought clean water closer to home for the 600 households in Kahandale. For the community, it was the beginning of a new chapter.
Today, three years on, the system continues to function reliably, free from the costly burden of diesel fuel. The community continues to have access to enough clean water for drinking, cooking, and maintaining proper hygiene and sanitation. This is an important defense in a region where flash floods and prolonged droughts are becoming more frequent, leading to preventable acute watery diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera.
Sahra, one of the community members, explains, “I now fetch clean water in a few minutes, and I have time to care for my children. My daughters go to school instead of walking long distances with heavy jerry cans to look for water.”
The benefits have extended beyond the household. With water available for livestock, families have been able to maintain healthier livestock, a crucial safeguard against the economic shocks of drought giving pastoralist households greater security. A number of families have also started small kitchen gardens, using the water to grow vegetables for home consumption.
Sustainability has been at the heart of this change. The trained water management committee continues to ensure the smooth running of the system, while local operators, skilled in handling solar-powered technology, are able to troubleshoot and fix issues as they arise. The community itself has become the custodian of this resource, reducing dependence on external support and resolving disputes over water use peacefully among themselves.
Kahandale’s progress is a testament to how access to clean water can transform lives and livelihoods. Yet, while this village has made progress, many communities in local villages in Somalia remain without reliable access to water. For them, the struggles Kahandale once faced remain a daily reality.
NAPAD is calling for increased funding to replicate and scale up solar-powered water systems across Somalia. With your support, more communities can achieve what Kahandale has, life-saving access to clean water, and the dignity of knowing that clean water is not a privilege, but a right.