The Boma Tank is a new and exciting initiative set up by Water Drops. ‘Boma’ is a Swahili word meaning small village or homestead where maybe three or four related families of up to 30 people live together.

The nature of the traditional Maasai social system is changing. Traditionally people used to live in large communal areas known as Group Ranches. This meant that all resources were shared – especially grazing and water – for the benefit of all. However, there is now a move towards demarcating Group Ranches into individual holdings. This means that each individual homesteads must now search for their own water and grazing to sustain their livelihoods. This has been a serious challenge for many families – especially if they are also affected by drought and famine conditions.

Water Drops ensures that our water solutions are located within designated public areas – like a church, school or health clinic to keep it accessible to everyone. However, not everyone lives close enough to these public places and can therefore be easily overlooked when it comes to valuable resources like water. So, what can we do for them? How do we help those who cannot benefit from the Water Drops’ community tanks?

If people can’t reach clean drinking water from where they live, then we should help them to have clean water available in their own Boma, so ‘The Boma Tank’ was created.

In conjunction with the Diocese of Kajiado, homesteads will be selected on a priority basis according to geographical location, homestead circumstances and availability of a water source.