Provision of potable water is a necessity in my community

My town is at least five hours from Ilorin, the capital city of my state, Kwara. We are a people who are majorly into fishing and farming. We are quite a handful; the houses are not more than a hundred, at least from the last time I visited. Our location is on the shore of the Niger. Once you cross the river to the other side, you will find your footing in another state, Niger.

Since we are located at the river bank, it is common to see boats and canoes at the river bank. I used to enjoy visiting the river to play inside, and perhaps a one-time experience scared me from entering the waters. The community people often fetch water from the river, oftentimes going a little farther into the water to fetch relatively clean water. Something funny happened one day. I was playing in the waters when I saw a well-formed stool erupt from the waters, and there was the woman responsible for the act. Apparently, she had defecated close to where we were playing as children. And you can imagine that some people would still fetch the same water for domestic use. You would see people wash either on the shores of the water or straight into the waters.

The challenge is that there are limited boreholes in the village. You can imagine the unavailability of social amenities in a six-hour community from the capital city. Clean water that should be colorless, odorless, and tasteless ends up having all three characteristics that should be lacking.

ACCIDENTS

Being a riverine community, our people often navigate to neighboring communities via canoes and boats. Some ferries do come around occasionally. We have lost a few community members as a result of drownings and even boat accidents. Who would provide travelers with life jackets? Travelers are often left at the mercy of fate while traveling on water.

FLOODING

This is a major headache in my community. Being a community that is situated on a river bank, we are predisposed to flooding, which comes primarily from heavy downpours of rain or the opening of water dams. Flooding is a community health hazard as it predisposes individuals to water-borne diseases and even reptiles. The most devastating effect flooding had on my community was the destruction of crops. We have lost millions of naira worth of crops as a result of flooding. I experienced similar losses when I started rice farming. My farm was flooded just when I planted the nursery. It was devastating, and it was a great loss for me.

TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT SOLUTIONS

Dredging of the river would go a long way toward limiting the incidents of flooding. It is a capital project, but this would limit the loss of lives and properties in the community. Of course, the provision of potable water through it is at the top of the list of what can be improved. Electricity is even more far-fetched, but having the basic amenities is a first step to solving our major challenge.

POOR HEALTH FACILITIES

The local government itself has just a standard hospital, and my town is about two hours away. Well, we have a dispensary, and you don't want to imagine the level of health care there—it's bad enough. But what can we do? It's better than none. So, when people fall sick, the community is at the mercy of quacks or community health extension workers (CHEWs), if any are available.
There are quite a lot of other things, like the provision of electricity, good roads, netted buildings, etc., that would benefit the community. Water is essential to life, and tackling that first would go a long way toward making life better for us.

Here is my entry into #aprilinleo monthly and daily prompts. You can participate via this LINK

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Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions.