Mohammed Ibrahim
July 19, 2018
United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) in partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) have been providing clean water to rural communities in Kaduna North West Nigeria and now residents there are joyful.
The UNICEF Water project was founded by Department for International Development (DFID) in partnership with Kaduna State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASA).
The project was implemented by UNICEF under its Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project. Most of the benefitting communities were provided with boreholes to ease their water problems.
The two communities visited by our reporter in northern part of Kaduna State were Kudan and Giwa Local Government Areas. According to residents of these communities, before the UNICEF intervention local wells were their source of water.
The 30-year old Housewife Talatu Danjuma couldn’t hide her joy when she says that the borehole provided in her village has changed their lives for good.
Talatu, a resident of remote village called Dan Magani located in Kudan Local government notes that the community has 130 households and over 3000 population.
Talatu says, “In the past we suffered a lot from sicknesses because of the water we drink from the well but ever since we started drinking from the borehole our lives changed for good.”
She further stresses that their children are healthier now. “No more illnesses like typhoid, cholera etc. Honestly, UNICEF and their partners deserved commendation.”
She further stresses that they no longer allow their children to defecate openly as they used to.
“This is why we are equally appealing that the project be implemented in other neighboring villages.”
According to Talatu, other villages such as Gidan Giginya, “are always envying us and we think they also deserve a borehole.”
Maryam Musa, the Chairperson Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Committee Members (WASHCOM) for Dan Magani village says their job is to educate and train women on how to take care of their environment and children.
“We also educate them to always wash their hands with water after using the toilet. To also wash hand before and after eaten. We also encouraged them to teach their children the culture of hand washing.’
Magani stresses that all the houses in this community wash their hands using soap before taking a mean or using latrines.
On Source of water in the community she says “Years back we depended only on well as our source of water but ever since UNICEF and its partners came to our village and dug a borehole. Our people prefer drinking from the bore than well.
“The borehole seems to be more clean and healthy. The taste is good and now women are happy,” she notes.
According to her, people in this community in the past suffered from typhoid, cholera and other water borne diseases but presently all that has gone.
“We are happy people now and we say thank you to this project,” she adds
Likewise, Unguwar Musa Village Head who spoke to our reporter through his son Muzzamil Jibril says majority of houses in the community now have toilets.
Muzzamil who is also the Water Sanitation Hygiene Committee Members’ secretary in the community expresses satisfaction with the WASH Project in the community.
According to him, 90 Percent of the people in the village give their cooperation and support for the success of the project.
“On our part we move around the community to ensure that children are not allowed to play with the borehole or defecate openly in the village.
“Majority of them now have toilets inside their houses so now the issue of open defecation has been eradicated completely,” he says.
Unguwar Musa community has 100 households and a population of 3,000 people. The people there are predominantly farmers. The communities are all in Kudan Local government.
In Giwa LGA, the Village Head of Tashar Guga village Abdullahi Bello equally commends the WASH project.
He says the solar borehole provided in the community is making life easy for his people, particularly women and children.
“We thank UNICEF and their partners for providing us with this solar borehole,” he stresses.
According to him, toilets were also provided in the only Primary School in the community.
HOW DO COMMUNITIES HAVE ACCESS TO BORE HOLE DRILLING BY UNICEF?