Villagers of Ndungu Kebbeh in Lower Nuimi District have called for help from government agencies, non-governmental organisations and philanthropist as the community faces acute water shortage.
They made the appeal in a Voice interview over the weekend amidst heighten water shortage that drive family’s kilometers to get water for either laundry, cooking or drinking compounding the difficulties women under goes through in rural Gambia.
“We are very much concern about the current situation of water supply in the community, it is more than eight months since the water system breakdown. This situation has inflicted troubles to the whole community especially the health post that depend so much so on water in everything we doing here,” said Yankuba Balago, Officer-In-Charge of Ndungu Kebbeh.
He added: “Right now the major trouble we experience here is the difficulties we encounter when we have cases of delivery at the health post because we have to go all out to find for water that we use to take care of newly born babies and their parents. On behalf of the community I want to appeal to the relevant authorities to look into the issue of lack of water in this community.”
Aji Kumba Gaye, a women leader of the community outlined the difficulties that women undergo to get water for their household needs, adding that women trek kilometres to have access to clean drinking water for members of their families from other neighbouring community at various cost attached.
“Our situation is too grieved looking at the troubles we endue to get water for our families since the water supply got broke. Most of the women have to carry buckets or gallons from kilometres or pay for donkey cards or horse cards to draw water for their families and those who cannot afford to do this payments risk going without water for a day or so,” said Madam Gaye.
Aji Kumba called on Gambian government, philanthropist and Samaritan to render help to the women of Ndungu Kebbeh, disclosing that many families are forced to resort back to drinking well waters that is considered inimical to the health and well-being of the people of the village.
Ebrima Sarr, a youth leader for the community also added his voice to the discourse, revealing that the water crisis started some eight months ago and has now gone out of hand of the people of Ndungu Kebbeh.
“I can confirm that most families residing in this community are now relying more on well waters to accomplish domestic work. Right now clean drinking water is a precious gem in this community because one has to pay for money before you can drink such waters or rely on buying bottle waters that majority families cannot afford to pay,” Sarr revealed to The Voice Newspaper.