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Assessing programming in the context of drought: Miriam’s field work experience in Kenya

Miriam Denis Le Sève works for ODI as a Water Policy Programme Research Officer and she recently travelled to Kenya. This is an account of her field research experience.

Miriam Denis Le Sève

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Preparation

Arid and dusty Turkana is one of 3 regions in Northern Kenya receiving water, sanitation and hygiene support from the SWIFT Consortium. In Turkana, Marsabit and Wajir, since the project started in 2013, over 165,000 people have been reached with clean, safe water. This is no mean feat in a complex landscape characterised by harsh climatic conditions. Last year, East Africa suffered its worst drought in decades – with Kenya’s president declaring a national emergency.
It was in this context that I was to travel to Kenya to assess the value of SWIFT’s water interventions – focusing on solar-powered water pumps and capacity building – and the challenges created by drought conditions.

Building a team

Researchers seldom work alone. On projects like this – which included 27 focus group discussions and 20 interviews, across 9 sites and in 3 counties – teamwork is a necessity. WASH staff from implementing partners advised me on my itinerary, helped arrange transport, recommended accommodation, liaised with communities and accompanied my site visits. From the beginning, it was important that we developed a strong working relationship.
But, despite the logistical help I received from partners, the security situation in Marsabit and Wajir meant that I could only travel to Turkana; so we needed to recruit a consultant who could replicate the research in other counties.
Laban MacOpiyo, our consultant, is experienced at facilitating field work and brought on-board experienced staff able to conduct discussions and interviews in local dialects. The team was taking shape.

Developing the tools

With the team in place we still needed to develop data collection tools aligned with the aims and objectives of the research and informed by the Water Policy Programme’s previous work on drought and resilience.
In ODI’s London office, guides were prepared for 3 focus group discussions – for Water User Committees and male and female beneficiaries – and 4 sets of key informant interviews – for selected beneficiaries, representatives from SWIFT, service providers and the National Drought Management Authority.  Semi-structured, these discussion guides would explore the role SWIFT interventions had on securing water access throughout the drought – as well as the drought’s influence on these interventions.

 

In the field 

First on the itinerary was a morning meeting with Oxfam’s WASH Strategist. As his role is to facilitate research and analysis to inform future WASH interventions his engagement was crucial. In addition to discussing the purpose of the research, the itinerary and deliverables, I conducted the first interview of the trip, using the interview guide prepared earlier. The afternoon was spent with the consultant making final preparations and going through the research tools before travelling together to Lodwar – the driest spot in arid Turkana. Later that day we led a training session with Arrupe, Philip and Eliza – three local enumerators who would be conducting the focus group discussions and interviews in the field.
The first site visit was scheduled for Monday, with the driver, two enumerators, the Practical Action representative, the consultant and myself. It took just over an hour of driving through dust, past goats and over wadis to reach Turkwel, an agro-pastoral community and Practical Action site south-west of Lodwar.
As became the pattern for every site visit, we began with a short meeting with the village and Water User Committee (WUC) chairpersons before being shown the water point system. Then, under the welcome shade of acacia trees, three focus group discussions were conducted in parallel, led in the local language by enumerators.

Conducting discussions

These were with 5 to 10 members of the WUC and up to 15 male and female beneficiaries who could speak about their water access before and after the construction of the SWIFT water point. These discussions were substantiated by up to 4 individual interviews with selected community members, such as a teacher, a mother, a herder or water trader. All discussions took place in the local languages.
The following day we replicated this process in another site near Lodwar on the banks of the River Turkwel. Here we were shown a ‘hybrid’ pump, that draws on solar power during the day and electricity at night and so provides a continuous water supply. Then more interviews were conducted with representatives from the town’s water service provider, LOWASCO. Through SWIFT, Oxfam had been working with LOWASCO to introduce solar-powered pumps and build the capacity of staff. More interviews followed in the Country Drought Management office that, through a County Steering Group works closely with Oxfam on drought response and preparedness.

 

We then travelled northwards to Kakuma – the base for the next round of field visits. Located in one of Kenya’s most remote and impoverished areas – towards the border of South Sudan – Kakuma is known primarily for its refugee camp which now accommodates almost 200,000 refugees from neighbouring countries.

 

Meeting pastoral communities

Under the relentless sun, we continued field visits over the next two days, travelling to two remote pastoral communities – Lokitpetot Akwan and Nangomo. Part nomadic, part settled these communities depend on livestock for their livelihoods. We learned that the impact of the SWIFT interventions in each location has been transformative – not just for the immediate communities but for the numerous pastoral households that continue to settle around the water points.

 

At Lokipetot Akwan, it was heart-warming to hear the story of a woman who, with two young children, no longer needs to walk 15 kilometres in search of water.

Consolidating the lessons learnt

With the Turkana fieldwork over, we headed back for one final debrief. It was then back to London for me, and onwards to Marsabit and Wajir for the consultant to replicate the research in the two regions of SWIFT intervention.
After all this work, dust and travel it is gratifying to see our research nearly published. Next time you read a research report spare a thought for the researchers building relationships, navigating conflicts or explaining the finer points of questionnaires to local facilitators of the remote areas they’re seeking to better understand!

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Miriam Denis Le Sève

End of the first phase of the SWIFT programme in the DRC
End of the first phase of the SWIFT programme in the DRC
All hands on deck for water, sanitation and hygiene in Bweremana
All hands on deck for water, sanitation and hygiene in Bweremana

About SWIFT

Since 2014, the Sustainable WASH In Fragile Contexts (SWIFT) Consortium has been working to provide access to water and sanitation and to encourage the adoption of basic hygiene practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Kenya. Various partners implement SWIFT’s actions in both target countries, in collaboration with governments as well as water providers, including utilities. The consortium is led by Oxfam, and includes Tearfund and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) as global members. The SWIFT programme is funded by UK aid from the UK government under a Payment by Results (PbR) contract.

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