Dokata Water Project

Born and raised in Dokata village of MacKinnon Road ward, 52 years old Mwajoto Mwagawari is today a happy man thanks to the water project opened by the County Government of Kwale in their area back in 2017. To him this project is a relief to hundreds of Dokata residents who for years had to walk long distances in search of water. Mwajoto narrates how Dokata mothers used to trek to as far as eight kilometers to fetch water at Mgalani and sometimes at MacKinnon Road areas. Dokata boarders Tsavo East National Park and here wild animals such as elephants, lions and buffaloes frequently cross to the village, which makes this area dangerous at times.

Mwajoto Mwagawari explaining about the water project.

“Our mothers spent much of their time fetching water. They used to wake up as early as 5 o’clock in the morning and they could return home at around 9 o'clock exhausted, and still had other cores to do after returning.” He explains.

According to him, some women walked these tiresome distances carrying their babies on their backs. Apart from that dawn task, some Dokata mothers used to return to Mgalani in the afternoon depending on water consumption needs by their family members.

At Mgalani area, people got water from the Kenya Railway taps that were later closed forcing Dokata residents to move to MacKinnon Road. However since the inception of the Melikubwa-Dokata water project by the County Government of Kwale, Dokata villagers are now getting relief as many get water from a comfortably near walking distance as compared to the past. 

Girls at the Dokata water Kiosk.

And to elderly Mama Dzame Rumba, the county water project is such a relief to Dokata villagers. Mama Dzame says that in the past she personally walked the distances to Mgalanai, MacKinnon Road and sometimes to the furthest Kikobeni village where they fetched water. However she explains that the water at Kikobeni wasn’t that safe for domestic uses as it was fetched from open ditches which they later came to realize that they were used as toilets for Mau Mau prisoners during the colonial periods.

“I thank the County Government of Kwale for the water project. We can now comfortably relax and fetch water just a few meters from our homesteads. We are no longer walking those distances we used to walk in the past.” She says. 

“We sometimes used to hide or run away from elephants and buffaloes we encountered on our way to Mgalani, MacKinnon or Kikobe areas.'' Adds the elderly woman.

Some residents are also using this water project to do irrigation farming in their homesteads. A good example is Mr Lennox Mwagawari who grows water melons and vegetables such as the amaranthus famously known as ‘mchicha’ in Swahili.

Watermelon from Lennox's farm in Dokata village.