Not ‘thirsty:’ Coastal community’s fortunes change with piped water

Ribe Community Initiative (RCI) is part of a growing movement of community foundations along Kenya’s Swahili Coast. Under the umbrella programme the Swahili Coast Community Foundations Initiative (SCCFI), local groups are organising to take greater ownership of their development priorities. Co-financed by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, SCCFI was established to harness the spirit of Harambee (“all pull together”) in Kenya and support community-driven development along the coast. Through the initiative, AKF works with emerging community foundations to strengthen local leadership, encourage community participation and help communities identify priorities, mobilise resources and engage constructively with government and other development partners – where the approach is designed to support long-term, locally led development rather than deliver projects on communities’ behalf. “The county government of Kilifi responded positively because repairing the water pipeline aligns with the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), which prioritises water infrastructure and improved service delivery,” says Mariam Mohamed, AKF’s Project Coordinator for SCCFI.