It began as a simple meeting. Women, youth, community leaders and members of Crossworld Foundation gathered at the Gaukune Rai factory,Meru to discuss a shared concern — water. Reliable access to clean water was not just an infrastructure question for this community; it was a question of dignity, health, and the ability to plan for the future.
The Chairman of Crossworld Foundation opened the session by speaking directly to the women and youth in the room — the two groups most affected by water scarcity, and also the two groups with the greatest potential to lead the solution.
When women and youth are at the centre of the conversation, the solution is no longer about pipes and pumps. It becomes about the future of an entire community.
— Chairman, Crossworld FoundationThe discussion moved quickly from identifying challenges to shaping opportunities. Participants raised practical concerns: distances to water points, safety for girls and young women, the cost of buying water during dry seasons, and the impact on small-scale farming. Together with the Foundation's team, they explored a community-led approach — one where water solutions are planned, owned and maintained locally.
The meeting was not just about listening. It was about organising. By the end of the session, working groups had formed around specific priorities — water access, hygiene awareness, youth engagement, and income-generating activities linked to water management. The community committed to identifying suitable locations, mobilising local labour, and setting up a simple accountability structure to track progress.
Building more than infrastructure
What made this meeting different from a conventional project launch was its emphasis on empowerment alongside infrastructure. The Foundation's approach links water access to wider opportunities: training for women in water-related enterprise, mentorship for youth in community leadership, and connection to broader climate-resilience programmes.
The Gaukune meeting is one of several consultations happening across the region. Each one is small by itself — but together they form a map of community-led priorities that will shape the Foundation's water and climate work for years to come.
