Improved hygiene for families in Ganye through access to clean, safe water

Spending the sum of ₦250 daily on water may not seem like a lot of money but the cumulative sum for a week is ₦1,750, for one month it is ₦7,500, and about ₦90,000 for a year. When this sum is added to other bills a family has to cover, it paints a clearer picture of the cost of water insecurity for small income families in Gangarasso-Sangassumi, Ganye Local Government Area, Adamawa state.

In the harsh Nigerian economy, some families may not be able to afford the cost, but even for families who can, the water is not always available. To meet their water needs, they resort to drawing water from hand dug wells. These wells are mostly unprotected and therefore serve as breeding grounds for disease causing microorganisms. The result is the likelihood of a myriad of diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid.

This water insecurity is worse in the dry season when the wells dry up, and the demand for water is so much that the vendors are unable to meet every family’s need. Some families do without water and may go days without bathing and doing household chores that require water.

This was Na’ima Mohammed’s reality before the USAID funded Small Town WASH (STWASH) Activity’s intervention in Gangarasso-Sangassumi.

28 year old Na’ima, who lives with her husband and five children speaks in Hausa as she recounts her experience before the 50,000 liter water tank was constructed in her community by the ST WASH Activity.

“Before we could not do any chores, we could neither cook nor bathe, when there was no water. It is worse in the dry season as the local sellers are scarce, the cost is more and the demand is high.”

When the STWASH team identified the challenge in Ganye, they engaged the community leaders who played a vital role in the selection of members to form the Water Consumers’ Association (WCA), responsible for the management and maintenance of the water schemes.

They were trained on book keeping, operation of the water facility and management of funds.

The newly constructed water facility provided water for the community through several fetching points but with time, residents connected water to their houses through underground pipes.

Na’ima and her family are one of many families who have connected water to their homes. Speaking about her experience, she said “This support has reduced a lot of stress for me. I no longer have to  exercise energy drawing water from the well and I can even store water in drums.”

Beyond the stress relief for her, her family’s hygiene has improved greatly as they now have enough water to bathe, cook and clean.

“We used to bathe once a day even in hot weather, but now my children can bathe two or three times daily. We have water for all our needs.”

She revealed that other residents of the community now have a new outlook towards the role of clean water on their hygiene.

“A lot of residents now clamor to connect to the facility because they see how relieved we are and how we are able to use water for our needs. It is also cheaper”. 

On what she will do to ensure the sustenance of the water facility, Na’ima said, “I will be protective of the borehole in my house, so that my kids will not play or tamper with the tap head and hose. I want the water to keep flowing and flowing, and never stop”.

She expressed worry about the fact that parts of Ganye cannot access the water facility because of the distance in location, and called for support with another facility to serve them.

Na’ima hopes that every child in Ganye will have access to education regardless of their socio-economic status, so that they can be independent and responsible citizens.