Over the years, water, which is the most important food in people’s lives, has become the most difficult to get, particularly so during the months of January to April in rural communities like Kissy, Wellington, Calaba Town, Allen Town and Yams Farm, all in the east of Freetown.
It is estimated that half of the population in the city resides in these communities. It has become a practice for most residents in those areas to spend most of their night life searching for water from whatever source and to the extent of paying for water carried in jerry cans that would have otherwise been provided by the relevant water distribution authorities.
Despite the huge resources that have been invested and continue to be invested in the water sector, hundreds of residents are still fighting to cope with water shortage in their various localities, a situation that has become a seasonal affair, especially during the dry season.
This development has forced many workers that reside in that part of Freetown to abandon the areas for central Freetown and beyond, where living conditions are far better than in the eastern part of the city where water, power supply and transportation continue to impact greatly on the lives of the residents.
Apart from government’s intervention via the Water Resources ministry, together with support from local and international non- governmental organisations working in this country, water is still a big challenge as most residents are still unable to access pure drinking water. Most people depend on water wells fitted with hand pumps and dugout wells for their daily supply of water.
Some residents, because they cannot afford to pay water service providers on a daily basis as they cannot live without water, result to damaging water pipes meant for those that can afford to pay for water supplied to their homes by Guma Valley Water Company, thereby causing such people embarrassment and discomfort.
Year in year out, residents in the eastern part of the city have been going through this perennial challenge, which they have to live with as most of them cannot afford to leave their homes for other parts of the city where living conditions are better, especially with the availability of basic necessities such as regular water supply, electricity and transportation.
In our next edition, we shall examine the challenges being faced by the service providers and in this case the Guma Valley Water Company and plans by the water authorities to minimise the sufferings of people in the east of Freetown as they approach the rainy season.