Influence of distance to water source on socio-economic factors in Tiva catchment, Kitui county

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.