Ekiti communities benefit from ActionAid Nigeria’s intervention

Five communities in Ekiti State have received relief from longstanding social challenges, following interventions by the Environmental Development and Family Health Organisation (EDFHO), with support from ActionAid Nigeria.

The beneficiary communities are Ajebamidele, Aba Osun and Ile-Ona in Ekiti West Local Government Area; Ilupeju-Ijan in Gbonyin Local Government Area; and Ipere-Ekiti in Ilejemeje Local Government Area.

The interventions, implemented under ActionAid Nigeria’s Local Rights Programme (LRP), focused on improving access to potable water, supporting rural agricultural activities, enhancing learning conditions in schools and strengthening grassroots healthcare delivery.

The projects included the installation of a motorised borehole with water storage and distribution facilities in Ajebamidele; donation of furniture to teachers and pupils at the only school in Aba Osun; the provision of tricycles to a women’s cooperative group in Ipere-Ekiti and farmers in Ilupeju-Ijan; aa well as the renovation of a basic healthcare centre in Ile-Ona.

Baale of Ajebamidele, Ibrahim Ajao, commended EDFHO for addressing the community’s longstanding water challenges, noting that the intervention had ended years of difficulty in accessing potable water.

Beneficiaries of the tricycles, school furniture and renovated healthcare facility also expressed gratitude to the organisations, pledging to make effective use of the facilities and ensure their sustainability.

Speaking during the inauguration of the borehole in Ajebamidele, EDFHO Executive Director, Olu Ogunrotimi, said the community’s topography had made the provision of water particularly challenging.

He expressed satisfaction that years of effort had finally yielded results, giving residents access to potable water and improving their prospects for a healthier standard of living.

Ogunrotimi explained that EDFHO had worked hard to facilitate the establishment and approval of the only school in Aba Osun, making the provision of furniture necessary to create a more conducive environment for teaching and learning.

He added that the tricycles donated to farmers in Ipere-Ekiti and Ilupeju-Ijan were intended to ease the transportation of farm produce to towns and markets, thereby supporting agricultural activities and improving livelihoods.

Regarding the renovated healthcare centre in Ile-Ona, he said the intervention was aimed at improving access to quality healthcare services at the grassroots.

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Speaking at the inauguration, ActionAid Nigeria’s Local Rights Programme Specialist, Kehinde Arowosegbe, congratulated the beneficiary communities and urged residents to take ownership of the projects and maintain the facilities properly to protect the resources invested in them.

In Ajebamidele, a representative of the Ekiti State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), Kolawole Ebenezer Okeya, urged well-meaning individuals, corporate organisations and institutions to emulate ActionAid Nigeria’s intervention.

He noted that the government alone could not meet all the needs of the people, stressing the importance of partnerships with non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders in addressing community development challenges.