FAcE-PaM inaugurates water project in Plateau communities

A member of the Board of Trustees of Forward in Action for Education, Poverty and Malnutrition (FAcE-PaM), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Dr Altine Chime Zwandor, has said that access to clean water strengthens health systems, supports livelihoods, promotes dignity and enhances community resilience in the era of changing climate realities.

Dr Zwandor made the declaration during the inauguration of water projects in different communities in Plateau State by the organisation.

The multi-million naira water projects were executed in an effort to provide potable water to the people by the Bauchi-based NGO, in collaboration with other organisations.

The benefiting communities include Mabudi and Dadinkowa in Langtang South Local Government Area and Garkawa in Mikang Local Government Area.

Speaking during the handover of the solar-powered boreholes, Zwandor described the event as a turning point in improving daily lives of households, especially of women, children and the vulnerable groups who bear the greatest burden of water scarcity.

She reminded residents of the three communities that “sustainable water projects can only endure when communities take responsibility for protecting and ensuring their functionality, through effective running of WASHCOM and Volunteer Hygiene Promoters (VHPs) activities.”

In a message on the occasion, President Kishak Bawun, second counselor to Jos, Nigeria of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, funders of the project, said that the event was part of his organisation’s humanitarian services designed to uplift and transform the lives of communities that have suffered years of daily trauma in accessing potable water.

He disclosed that each of the boreholes has the capacity to provide about 20,000 litres of water daily to each of the benefiting communities, saying, if well maintained, the project would transform education and health, promote evangelism and eradicate food scarcity, especially among the vulnerable groups.

In his remarks, chairman of Dadinkowa, Chief Lohumba Nimyel,  who spoke on behalf of other traditional leaders, expressed gratitude to the donors for bringing to an end decades of suffering associated with sharing earth dams with animals, hoping that other public-spirited individuals would emulate the gesture.