By Gyang Bere
Students of Institute of Strategic and Development Communication (ISDEVCOM), Nasarawa State University, Keffi, have constructed a borehole for Angwan Kare community in the state as part of their academic practical project.
The project brought to an end the perennial water crisis rocking the community where women and children trek for kilometers to fetch water in a stream used by animals, for drinking and domestic activities.
Women and children danced in the community during the commissioning of the borehole, hoping it marks the end of the water crisis in the community.
The Director of ISDEVCOM, Prof. Emmanuel Samu Dandaura, who commissioned the project last weekend, said the initiative has brought a sigh of relief to the community, which had been battling with water challenges for decades.
Dandaura, who was represented by the coordinator of Post Graduate School in the Institute, Dr. Sunday Igbaba, urged the community to ensure sustainability of the project.
He said: “I want to state without fear or favour, that of all the community projects that have been carried out by the institute, this is the first feasible, practical project that I am seeing which has direct bearing on the people.
“It is not just within the immediate feasibility but it is a project that the community will benefit from for a very long time. I am saying this because in some communities,they are only thought how to keep their surroundings clean.
“But this particular project is something tangible. I was wondering when I was called to represent the Director of the Institute and I wondered what the project was all about but when I came, I was happy with what I saw.”
He applauded the people of Angwan Kare community for working harmoniously with the students throughout the period of executing the project, as there was no misunderstanding from the beginning to the end of the project.
“This is a thing of joy; I thank you on behalf of my director. I urge you to imbibe the spirit of maintenance because the water project belong to the community and it is important for the community to organize itself to maintain the project so that it can be sustained for a very long time.
“There are different water projects that government will come and sink borehole and at the end of it the project will be vandalize by the community members. Our prayers is for this community, both men and women, to join hands and ensure that the project is maintained and sustained.
“In doing this, we have to appoint a committee that will take charge of the project. The committee will be answerable to community leaders and if there is a problem, they should call for a meeting to tackle it,” he stated.
The Saraki Angwan Kare community, Ali Muhammad, who was delighted when the project became a reality, said it will save members of the community the trouble of going to the stream and other water diseases.
He said: “We are grateful over the development that you have brought to this community; we had two boreholes and all of them were damaged. We pleaded with people and government to come and fix them for us but know body listened to us. God has used you, students of ISDEVCOM, to put smile on our faces today.
“Water was one of our pressing needs in the community. As we speak, once the generator is on, water will start coming out and people, both women and children will come out to fetch. The era of going to the stream to fetch water with animals has gone.
“We pray that what you people have done to this community, God in his infinite mercy will reward all of you in hundred folds.”
The Chief of Defense of the community, Yamusa Yohanna, described people in the community as peaceful and hospitable who are yearning for development.
He said: “We respect constituted authority and that is why this project is a success today. I assure you that we will maintain this project for the benefits of the community. We will always remember the students of ISDEVCOM because of this water project.
“We will continue to pray for these students to excel in all their endeavours and I wish that each of them be scored 100 percent because of their intervention project. We have never had it this way; this is the first time we are experiencing this.”
He urged government to learn from the intervention project by the students, describing water as very essential for human existence.
The students representative, Gyang Bere, who gave an overview of the project, said the students only organized members of the community to lead in identifying their immediate need and work towards solving the problem.
He noted that the students will continue to visit the community to ensure that the water project is maintained and sustained for the benefits of women and children in the community.
Bere explained that the project was coordinated by a group of nine students made up of Ph.D, Mphail, Masters and PG students with the aim of bringing development and relief to members of the community who are confronted with water challenges.
He said: “We are grateful for the cooperation given to us by members of the community. Out of the numerous challenges the community is facing, you choose water as one of the most challenging problem.
“We brainstormed together on how the water project will be executed and to the glory of God, today we are commissioning it. We urge you to ensure that the project is maintained and sustained.
“We will continue to collaborate with the community leaders to ensure that a set of individuals will come and install water tanks to enable you store water in the community.”
A community member, Livinus Mentor, an engineer, thanked the students and Dandaura for making the dream of providing water to the community a reality.
“This community has been battling with the issue of water for a very long time. We usually go down to the stream to share water with, goats, cows and pigs but as God has made it, through your effort, we have water today in the community.
“We pray that God will give you the wherewithal to do more to other communities that are in need. We have to work to ensure the sustainability of this project. The community have a great responsibility to do by maintaining the borehole,” he said.
Esther Emmanuel, 45, expressed gratitude to the students for providing the community with water.
Amina Hussaini, a 51-year-old married woman narrated her ordeal of fetching water from the stream at midnight just to keep body and soul together.