By Joy Gidani :
Training officer, Transfer of Appropriate Sustainable Technology and Expertise in Nigeria, Choji Ignatius says the security challenge being faced by the Gwagwada Community led to the siting of WASH Project.
As a result of activities of bandits, several people from neighboring communities who have fled their homes are now settled in Gwagwada, this has over time put a strain on existing facilities in the community, he said.
Ignatius was speaking at the end of a
three -day capacity building workshop on Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) organized by Transfer of Appropriate Sustainable Technology and Expertise (TASTE) Nigeria, in collaboration with Nigeria Early Recovery Initiative (NERI) ended on Thursday with a field work activity in Kurmin Gwari, Kaduna South, Kaduna.
Choji Ignatius said the workshop was to build the capacity of participants on how to take care of their environment and that they are expected to extend the same knowledge to other members of the community within the next four months.
Participants demonstrated how they will carry out the WASH campaign moved from house to house enlightening residents about the importance of hygiene and sanitation.
Anna Saidu, is a resident of Kurmin Gwari used the opportunity to call on the government to come to their aid as the community lacks proper drainage and portable water. “Seriously we need help, we need intervention because in this entire area we lack tap water, even though there is a borehole close by, we do not drink the water. Before we have access to drinking, we have to walk as far as Monday market since we can’t afford sachet water, and most well water are contaminated by sewage and faeces from broken pipes.
“We guided them on how to develop an action plan, how to go about transmitting this same knowledge to their community, and in turn we intend to follow up by visiting, monitoring and evaluating whatever activity it is they are doing, said the training officer– Ignatius.
One of the participants-Priscilla Hosea said the training has exposed her to the dangers of open defecation and how to keep her environment clean and promised to pass down the knowledge acquired to her society. .
She expressed gratitude to organizers of the project especially as they took the initiative to also provide boreholes to their community which will make life easier for them. “Before the provision of borehole, we used to get our water from the streams, other times we go to houses where there are wells, and the occupants will have to fetch before they allow us get some of the water”.
Other residents pleaded that the government if should intervene by replicating this project in Kurmin Gwari community, so that there lives will be much easier and won’t have to suffer water borne infections/diseases
