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Northern Bahr-El-Ghazal (NBEG) is one of ten states of south Sudan, a region which attained its semi-autonomous status in January 2005 after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Among the pressing challenges facing South Sudan is lack of clean water. Water shortage is posing a major problem to the State of NBEG but there is no immediate solution in sight. There are numerous consequences associated with water shortage in NBEG:
Water borne diseases
The State of NBEG is virtually without clean water, people relay on dirty pool water which is heavily contaminated. When people drink this dirty water, many of them get sick from various kinds of water borne diseases. State of NBEG has one of the highest deaths’ rates in the whole of South Sudan and water borne diseases are directly responsible for large portion of these deaths.
Lack of equipment for digging water wells or boreholes
Villages in NBEG depend on pool water during rainy session and water wells during dry session. Water wells are basically open pits dug into the ground until water level is reached. Water derived from such wells is not only dirty, it is also scarce. Since these wells are opened, they easily accumulate different kinds of water and wind borne contaminants responsible for many diseases.
Alarming rate of school dropout as a result of lack of water
As in other parts of South Sudan, water shortage is also having dramatic effect on education of children in NBEG. Parents send their children to fetch water which is usually located hours away from home. Therefore, many children end up not going to school as they have to help their aging parents who can not longer afford to travel such lengthy distance in search of water. Instead of going to school, children choose to make money by fetching water and taking it to local market where they sell it so as to be able to buy a day’s meal for their families.
Scarcity of water in towns
As of 2005 when CPA was signed, a couple of NGOs have gone to the State and have provided small number of water pumps. The few water pumps which they provided are usually located in towns leaving the rural community without clean water. Besides, water pumps in town are not enough for the people living in towns as well. It takes people many hours of waiting before getting water. The government of NBEG, like most other states’ governments, is simply overwhelmed by the problems facing the State.
Possible solution:
Considering this situation, members of Northern Bahr-El-Ghazal State residing in British Columbia have started this water project to try to raise funds to enable them provide water pumps to the State of Northern Bahr-El-Ghazal. One or two water pumps in a given village would save a lot of lives. It takes at least $12,000 to provide one water pump.
Those wishing to help financially are greatly welcome to support this vital cause. Besides, persons or organizations wishing to join this noble project so they become participants are