In this exposé, Executive Director of the Centre for Social Awareness Advocacy and Ethics (CSAAE), Fr Godswill Agbagwa, X-rays the availability of water consumption and domestic uses, for school children in Imo state.
The ED writes: One of the key indices of a civilized society is the availability of clean water to ALL.
In many civilized nations, tap water is common. In these nations, wherever there is a water tap, you can be sure that water will flow once you turn the tap on and the water taps are everywhere: schools, churches, hospitals, airports, parks, markets, etc.
My state, Imo, used to be like these nations in the 80s and 90s. In Owerri, the capital of Imo, there were water taps everywhere and water always flowed out whenever I turned them on. I did not know where the water came from but I later heard it came from “WATER BOARD.”
By the time I became a priest in 2003, none of those water taps were working. People started sinking boreholes in their homes in search of water. Initially, it was only the very rich that could afford to sink borehole water. Today, there is borehole water in almost every duplex in Owerri.
But many Imo people, especially those in rural communities still do not have access to clean water. Many school children still trek for miles daily to fetch water from the stream.
What happened to the IMO WATER BOARD? Why did it stop giving Imolites water? Why should individuals be sinking boreholes and spending money on fuel daily to pump water?
Is it cheaper for everyone to sink boreholes and run generators daily to pump water or for communities to have central water sources?
Is it safer for each of us to drill a borehole and pollute the atmosphere with fossil fuel just to pump water or for communities to have central sources of water?
How about those that can’t afford to sink boreholes? How do they drink water?
Recently, our Primary Education Program Officers visited several public primary schools in rural Imo state.
My people, I regret to inform you that “Our school children in rural communities have no water to drink in school.”
Who can help sink boreholes in primary schools so that school children in rural communities can have water to drink?
Who can help drill boreholes in primary schools so that school children can have sanitary toilets and don’t have to go to the bush to defecate or urinate?
If you can help, please call the CSAAE on: +234 704 600 7185. Email: cedu@csaaeinc.org. We can work with you to give school children in rural communities access to sustainable WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH).
As we celebrate WORLD WATER DAY, let’s come together and give our school children water to drink.