Relief as community gets borehole after 24-year wait

For more than 20 years, residents of Akwanji Village in Nyaravur–Angal Town Council, Nebbi District had struggled to get water for domestic use.   

The two available sources then; a borehole of a nearby school and Akuru stream, were often so congested that women and children had to spend several hours attempting to fetch water. 

One of the residents, Ms Maureen Okumu, in an interview on Monday said: “Women and children could wake up at dawn to look for water from Akuru stream which is shared with caretakers from Angal hospital and animals. ”

However, with the recent construction of a borehole in the village, their suffering has been alleviated .

According to the Assistant District Water Officer, Mr Agasum Adubango, the borehole was constructed with support from Lions Club International at Shs175 million.

He said it is the fifth one to be drilled in the district. 

Mr Adubango said efforts to increase water sources in the village have been hindred by the poor water tables, which couldn’t support the drilling of boreholes, making it hard and expensive for the district to do so.

“It is so challenging to see the community members spend more than three hours at the water source. When the school children are fetching water, women find it harder to fetch water in time due to the overwhelming population at the water source,” Mr Adubango said.

The residents said they would contribute Shs2,000 for its maintenance, which would be carried out by the Water Source Management Committee.

“We have suffered for so long, and by all means this borehole needs maximum protection and care to improve the hygiene,” Ms Okumu said.

Mr Ole Traasdahl, a Board Member of the Lions Aid–Norway, said: “We have come to give helping hands to Ugandan population to provide clean and safe water to the community as a lasting solution to the scarcity of water for domestic use.” 

The chairperson of Nyaravur-Angal Town Council, Mr Alex Gidagi, said since some community members are too poor to afford piped water, there is a need for the government to drill more boreholes. 

“We need to prioritise water for production and domestic use to solve the appalling water needs in the community. We have many boreholes in the communities which have been decommissioned due to their low water table,” Mr Alex said.

Akwanji Village has a population of 868 comprising 164 households, according to Mr Adubango.

According to the World Bank, Uganda’s rural water coverage is estimated at 69 percent while in urban areas it stands at 79 percent.