Abstract:
Lack of water in Arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) result to inability to meet other human needs such as
education and investment. In the arid Kitui county, education and livestock numbers are important
social economic that are often hindered by lack of water. The objective of this study was to determine
whether distance to a permanent water source had influence on attainment of education and livestock
accumulation. The survey was carried out through interviews using a questionnaire. Results showed
the level of education achieved by the residents is weakly correlated to distance to a permanent water
source (R2
= 0.13 and R2
= 0.006 for secondary and tertiary level education respectively) for the children.
For the fathers, the distance to a water source played a role in the level of education they attained. The
level of education influenced the kind of livestock kept by the residents with the more educated
preferring smaller livestock. There was likelihood other factors influenced the level of education sought
by the residents for their children.
