Climate change has impacted access to clean water among the Maasai, an Indigenous community domiciled in Mara, home to Maasai Mara Reserve which is internationally recognized for wildebeest migration. Despite the high revenue generated from tourism at the Reserve, challenges of water resource management persist. Their impacts are disproportionate, with women and girls bearing the brunt due to economic hardships and power imbalances that subject them to cultural prejudices. They are socialized for marriage, childbearing, and relegated domestic chores such as searching for water—a long walk through the Maasai Mara Reserve that exposes them to attacks by wild animals and puts their education at peril due to poor academic performance, chronic absenteeism, and high dropout rates. The safety of the water is not guaranteed due to pollution from waste and agricultural runoff. While local community members have organized associations for water management, inadequate funding, limited resources, and fragmented approaches inhibit coordination, limiting their effectiveness. Privatization and commodification of common water points, alongside political interference, corruption, and weak enforcement of regulations by the county government further undermine the efficiency and equity of water access, distribution, and management. The sparse population in Mara also discourages private sector players due to delayed return on investment. Nevertheless, Marafiki, an NGO, has developed a water grid to facilitate access to a primary school for locals near Ololamutia Gate. This installation has increased the participation of women and girls in education and other income-generating activities.
