Residents of Pyke Street in Brookfields struggling to fetch water from a community well
By Allieu Sahid Tunkara
The sharp and shrill voices of women and children scrambling for water from one of a few taps in the Mount Aureol community break the silence of the quiet morning. The clinging of metal and rubber buckets and jerry cans, accompanied by petty skirmishes, have become a familiar blend in this community at this time.
Scarcity of water supply across the city continues to be aggravated by the growing population fuelled by mass exodus of youths from the provinces to the city, a phenomenon referred to as ‘rural-urban migration’. Most of these migrants establish makeshift settlements either in the slums or on the hill-tops.
Considering the cheap housing system that has been prevalent within Mount Aureol community over the years, it is definitely a landing place for these up-country migrants. As they settle down, other members of the extended families are brought from the provinces to the city to add to the rolling statistics of the hill top dwellers. They get their daily bread through petty trading as most of them troop to Sani Abacha Street and other areas within the Central Business District selling assorted commodities by retail.
Community action for water
Mohamed Sesay is a longtime resident in the Mount Aureol community. He has spared no effort in his humble way to ensure access to water for the community. He dug his well by the hillside in mid-April last year which services the community throughout the dries.
Sesay is sometimes worried about the spate of quarrels that often ensue in the struggle for water especially among women and girls. “Most times, I settle most of the minor conflicts that arise among those who come to fetch water from my well,” he said.
Sesay is determined to see the water continues to flow but he said he needed assistance from the authorities. He lamented the fact that no institution or individual had come to their aid, not even the elected officials representing their community.
The residents here have no alternative but to live on water they source from the few unprotected wells, and this raises the question of hygiene and safety.
“Community stakeholders do not help because the well is in my premises,” Sesay complained.
His wife, Maseray Kamara-Sesay, always sits by the well in the absence of her husband to forestall the occurrence of minor conflicts. She also affirmed the need for community action for the provision of water supply.
“It is very important for women to have water since we need it every time,” said Mrs Sesay.
Prisoners
Without easy access to water, women and girls become prisoners of daylight daring to relieve themselves under the cover of darkness.
Trekking long distances both night and day to fetch water put these women at the risk of different forms of physical and sexual violence. The 2010 Amnesty International report indicates that a high number of women and girls in the slum areas in Kenya were raped owing to water and sanitation difficulties.
The report implies that it is the poorest, elderly, women and girls that are the hardest-hit.
After such an arduous chore, they may arrive late and tired at school. Being needed at home is a major reason for girls dropping out of school, especially those from humble families. Providing water closer to homes increases girls’ free time and boosts their school attendance, experts say.
Mariama Kargbo, a parents of two school going children, who lives close to the premises of the well digger Mohamed Sesay, told Politico of her fears of her girls getting impregnated during the search for water.
In addition to the risk of pregnancy, most of them attend classes very late and miss most part of their lessons.
“This does not mean well for our children,” lamented Ms Kargbo.
The United Methodist Church Primary School at Ginger Hall in the Mount Aureol Community is one of those schools that are greatly affected by the appalling water situation. The school runs a two-shift system with a population of over 1000 pupils. The youthful exuberance written on the faces of the children portrays a determination to learn but the shortage of water distracts their attention from the classroom.
The school’s headmistress, Pigie Sellu, blamed this for high rate of late coming among the pupils.
“Classes are supposed to start at 8:30 and ends at 12: 30, but owing to the water problem, we usually lose about 30 minutes or one hour. This badly affects learning,” she told Politico.
She disclosed that some kids go as far as Kissy Road just to fetch water. They pass through dangerous routes like Dan Street and Kissy Roads, the heartlands of some reckless commercial motorists.
“If no water is available in the school compound, the toilets would be messed up, and offensive odour would be the result,” lamented Ms Sellu.
Role of government and partners
Since government bears a fundamental responsibility of providing water for communities, the communication officer of the Ministry of Water Resources, Solomon Rogers, told Politico that his institution was determined to stabilise the water situation in the country. The spokesman cited the setting up of the Water Regulatory Commission and the amendment of obsolete laws such as: the Guma Valley Water Company Act of 1961 and the Sierra Leone Water Company Act of 2000 as a step in this right direction.
“The amendment will change the old laws and harmonise them with the new trends in the water sector,” Rogers said.
He said several projects were being implemented jointly by the ministry and the NGO Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH-Net) in the regional and district headquarter towns in the provinces with the aim of ensuring sufficient portable water for beneficiary communities.
Notable among these was the Rokel River Project which Rogers said was meant purely for the Western Area, to be executed in partnership with the British Department for International Development, the African Development Bank, World Bank, among others.
Since the ministry’s activities are donor driven, it must sail in the boat of partnership to realise its objectives.
But doubts still loom over whether water shortage would be made history taking cognisance of the low budgetary allocation to the water ministry. Interestingly this doubt is even shared by ministry officials.
“The ministry gets an annual allocation of 1% of the national budget and there are a lot of bureaucracies involved in getting the allocated fund,” Rogers said.
In 2010, the Sierra Leone Government signed the Sanitation and Water for All Treaty in Washington DC in the United States, alongside other African countries. The treaty came about at a time when annual government spending in the water sector was just 0.5%. WASH-Net, founded in 2009, comprises a number of civil society organisations including Health Alert and Good Shepherd.
During its formative period, its slogan was:’ GEE ME WATER, AR GEE YU ME VOTE.’ The slogan clearly underscores the overriding relevance of water to life, and it sends a compelling message to any political party in power.
The coalition has established its presence in the 14 districts of the country with a view to advocate water availability, but communities still grapple with perennial water shortage.
Founding and executive member of the organisation, Dr Johanness Bassie, explained that they engage municipal and local councils to ensure that they factor in WASH programmes in their development plans.
“At the time the government signed the treaty, the water coverage was 57% and sanitation was 13%.The government projected a 74% water coverage by 2015, under the Millennium Development Goals, but Ebola disrupted everything,” he said.
The MDGs have since been converted, so to speak, to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which consists of 17 deliverables, goals 5 and 6 being for water and sanitation, respectively. 2030 has been set aside as the target date.
It’s just a matter of wait-and-see how these water projects and target dates can influence a change in the efforts to alleviate the suffering of Mount Aureol and other communities in Freetown.
(C) Politico 10/02/16
