Caritas Switzerland, an international non-governmental organization, completed construction of and over the weekend handed over solar-powered water stations in four locations in Ikotos County, Eastern Equatoria State.
The water stations are located in the villages of Lohila, Hafiliari, Burung, and Nakoringole where the beneficiaries turned out in huge numbers to witness and celebrate the handover ceremony.
The Caritas Switzerland water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) manager in the Ikotos County office said three of the villages only had one hand pump each before the construction of the solar-powered water stations.
“Based on the data we collected from the county water department, the three locations we visited apart from Hafiliari, only have one hand pump,” Loro said. “With the big population, they have frequently broken down, especially during the dry season. So, together with the county water department, we came up with the idea of selecting those communities to benefit the solar system.”
He added: “In each village, for example in Nakoringole, the total cost of the project was USD 25,090, in Burung it cost us USD 26,000 and in Lohila it cost USD 25, 500 then in Hafiliari, because of the new drilling and the installation of solar panels, it has cost us USD 28,000.”
Loro urged the communities to conceptualize strategies to raise funds for the maintenance of the water stations in the long term.
Queen Achan, a mother in Hafialare village, expressed happiness at the new solar water system and said the majority of her village mates shifted to other neighboring villages due to water shortage.
“We have been suffering a lot and we move long distances up to Lofus and sometimes we move to the areas of Pill and Muhat and when criminals find you, they just rob you,” Achan narrated. “There has been no water here and this is the first time. We appealed and went up to the head office in Torit but no one helped us until Caritas came in.”
“This is the first time we received the solar water system but we still need another borehole to support as a backup in case of bad weather or when it gets spoilt,” Okello Gabriel Johnson, the youth leader in Nakoringole Boma said, “Initially, people used to climb the mountains and fetch water from there and others go up to Lotomo a distance of 30 Kilometers to get water.”
Caritas Switzerland has been working on development and WASH programs in Eastern Equatoria State since the 1980s and reopened its office in Torit in 2007 after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.