“Our women now use clean water, especially for their menstruation and hygiene. Before, some of our girls could not go to school during menstruation because there was no clean water anywhere to take care of themselves. Everything has changed and gotten better since Tracka visited and helped us cry out. We now have water from three different sources located close to us.”
In July 2021, when our Project Tracking Officer visited Kpoto Village, Kuje Area Council in FCT for the first time, he discovered they were battling a cholera outbreak. The outbreak was a result of a lack of access to clean water.
The residents had to travel more than 3 kilometres away to the only available stream to fetch dirty water. Sometimes, they will make the long trip and find the stream dry. We amplified their situation, wrote letters to appropriate agencies, and received support from TheCable newspaper.
Six months after, the story has changed. Three organizations have supplied the community with over a thousand residents with clean water. The Federal Ministry of Works provided a solar-powered borehole, while FCT Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (FCT RUWASSA) and the Inner Wheel Club of Garki District 910 each provided a hand-pump borehole in December 2021.
Amos, the community youth leader, spoke to Tracka about their current situation.
“Our water problem has been completely solved, all thanks to Tracka. Before we used to drink, cook and clean with the dirty water from the stream, but now we are using water from the borehole that is clean and not stressful to get.”
Bintu, a trader, narrated how she once had an accident while getting water before Tracka’s intervention.
“We used to suffer a lot. We will go very early in the morning to look for water and not come back until night because the stream is dry. One day I went to get water at the river, on my way back I was carrying water on my head when I fell and injured myself. The accident was terrible that I couldn’t leave home for some months.
But since you people came and helped us bring the government to hear our cries, we have been celebrating and thanking God for removing this big problem from our lives.” said Bintu.
According to the community head, water-borne illnesses have reduced drastically since the provision of clean water for the community.
“We used to have many issues of water-borne diseases that lead to many deaths. However, since the clean water was provided, we have not heard of any sickness related to that.”
Tracka commends the swift intervention of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing in providing clean and accessible water for the residents of the Kpoto community, alleviating their pain and preventing future water-borne diseases such as cholera.
We also appreciate the intervention of FCT RUWASSA and the Inner Wheel Club of Garki District 910 in providing water resources to improve the lives of the residents.
A working Nigeria is the responsibility of every one of us.
Story by Ayomide Ladipo and Garba Abdullahi
