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Mohamed Menseh town Chief of Alikalia town, Kalian Chiefdom, has raised concerns over the problem of safe drinking water in his community and the whole of Koinadugu District.
According to the Chief, the community which has a population of over 5,000 people has been going without drinking water for over two years.
He explained that “In the aftermath of the drinking water crisis, school-going children are beginning to drop out of school while their daily activity becomes fetching water from great distances.”
Smaller communities in particular do not have the financial or technical resources to figure out the water crisis in their localities.
Awoko Newspaper revealed that the Section Chief of Kalian Chiefdom, Chief Musa Satiru Sawaneh said that there is an ongoing contribution in the chiefdom concerning the water crisis.
He appealed to Government and Non-Governmental Organizations to help the chiefdom address the situation.
The Section Chief noted that when water is available, the girls can stay clean during their menstrual cycles and not be forced to miss school to fetch water from a distance, which can also increase teenage pregnancy in the community.
One of the residents, Aminata Koroma, said that fetching water is a physically demanding task for women, as a jerry can of 22 liters of water is very hard to carry for several miles.
“Carrying these Jerry cans on our heads can lead to back and spine issues over time,” Aminata said, disclosing that she usually wakes up at 4 am every day in search of water, because it takes an hour to get there by foot.
