For a long time, Mana Babba community in Sokoto-South LGA of Sokoto state has face struggle with assessing clean and safe drinking water as most of the water points in the community are no longer functional. Residents, especially women and children, had to travel a long distance to assess the next water point, often risking their safety, particularly at night.
Many vulnerable persons in the community including Persons with Disabilities (PWD) have been disenfranchised from accessing water points at close proximity for a long period. They struggled to navigate long distances and uneven terrain, often relying on others for assistance. The community head of Manababa, Mallam Bello Kofa Ahmad narrated some of the issues with assessing water by members of the community.
“Before now, we do face issues assessing water most especially for the community women as some of them have to travel as far as two kilometres with jerrycans on their head. Women were exposed to physical harassment, and other forms of danger while searching for water, making their daily lives even more challenging especially during this planting season when the farms are thick.”
He also stated: “We were also trained as WASHCOM. Now we know how to take care of our community in terms of sanitation and hygiene and also how to maintain the constructed water point for sustainability so it can serve the community for a long period of time”.
One of the trained Local Artisan Mechanic (LAMs), Ubaida Umar said that most women stopped fetching water at late hours due to safety and security reasons. She further added that she spends up to fifteen minutes assessing water before, but now she spends just a minute to get water. She also talked about the two days training of LAMS and how it has helped her and her community.
“Thanks to CBM and Albarka Health Spring Foundation (AHSF) for the training now we are able to sensitize women on the importance of hygiene, how to keep the environment and home.” – Ubaida Umar
Special thanks to Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Germany (BMZ), Christian Blind Mission (CBM) International and Albarka Health Spring Foundation (AHSF), the newly constructed solar motorized water system at Manababa community have given hundreds of the community a lifeline in assessing clean and safe drinking water.
