The dry season is fast approaching in Kebbi State, northwestern Nigeria. In the region, the period sounds like a difficult time for the populations, most of whom are farmers, since they have to travel miles to find water. Generally, during the rainy season, they use water from shallow wells for cooking, cleaning and feeding livestock. As soon as the sun starts hitting this semi-arid territory, at the gateway to the Sahara desert, water quickly disappears.
It is a situation that the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency in Kebbi State (RUWASSA) is very familiar with. It has decided to partner with Guinness Nigeria, a subsidiary of Diageo Plc, a UK brewing company, and WaterAid, an organisation whose activity is known in the African water sector. Together, therefore, they are launching a drinking water supply project.
The project will benefit 2,500 people
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has offered its technical support for this project. It consists of several boreholes and the construction of community wells. In the village of D’kwa, Danko/Wasugu LGA district, the wells remain open and unsecured. The project leaders propose to redevelop them while making them secure. D’kwa, is one of the villages that will benefit most from the project. More than 2,500 people will be served by the project and will also benefit from water distribution facilities.
Guinness Nigeria has decided to include its participation in the initiative as part of the “Water of Life” programme. It aims to provide access to safe drinking water, basic sanitation and hygiene facilities in order to reduce poverty. “This project should also support local development, as the water point management financial model will also help small businesses to thrive and make local funding available to support broader community development initiatives,” said Viola Graham-Douglas, Director of Business Relations for Guinness Nigeria. Currently, nearly 60 million people in Nigeria still lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Jean Marie Takouleu