By Rodiat Jokodolu
A United Kingdom based foundation, Hope Spring Water Charity has provided a hand-pump borehole to Gaa Dare village in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The intervention was in a bid to relieve the village of extreme water poverty that had made the people of the village prone to water-borne diseases and stiffen their livelihood.
In his statement, Hope Spring Director of Operations, Mr. Mubarak Oladosu who spoke on behalf of the founder, Mr Temitope Odurinde stated that they were delighted to bring water, sanitation and hygiene facility to over 2000 people in 22 communities at a time the world is fighting the Corona virus pandemic.
He appreciated the project manager, Miftah Abdulrauf for his doggedness and acknowledged the philanthropy of Peter and Chris Dawset and other anonymous donors, while lauding local and international Hope Spring team members.
Meanwhile, the Mogaji of Gaa Dare, Alfa Abdulmumini Aremu expressed gratitude to the foundation for the borehole while acknowledging the impact the facility has had on their communities.
“Before now, those who own motorcycles would go very long distance to fetch water and those without would have to pay handsomely for it. Thanks to this foundation, we now enjoy the ease of getting good water whenever we need it”, he stated.
In his address, the Seriki of the Fulani settlement at Gaa Dare, Mal. Abbas Bello, who also appreciated the foundation, affirmed that they suffered a great deal before the borehole.
His words: “We would go as far as Kanbi or Olooru to get drinkable water. Breakfast mostly become our lunch due to lack of good water. This is why we are very grateful for what God has done through this foundation”.
Corroborating the two leaders, the Secretary of Gaa Dare village, Mr Jimoh Oluwadare, said, “We are now at ease. Prior to this borehole, we hardly get water for bath talk less of drinking and cooking. And we were exposed to danger from alum purified water”.
Recounting their experience, a lady from Gaa Dare, Alimat Yakub, said, “Prior to this borehole, we experienced a gruesome situation. At times we would go seven days without bath. Oftentimes, we opt for sachet water to cook. Even when we are able to fetch water from a distant stream, it is useless except we purify it with alum and we can only use it for laundering and bath. We frequented clinics because our children were having water borne diseases”.
Another lady from one of the Fulani settlements, Rakiah Shittu also expressed appreciation for the intervention, saying: “We suffered a lot before this water intervention. We do wake up around 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. and still some won’t be able to fetch water. Now, thanks to this foundation, we can come to this borehole any time and fetch water”.
