To get water for basic household activities, the trek to the sole borehole in the town square would start by 4:30 for Hope so she could beat the other residents as there was always a queue at the borehole site which was the only source of clean water for the community. The borehole had just been recently built by a volunteer group after high rates of poisoning was discovered to be from the lack of clean hygienic water in the community, Seeing at that time the community stream which was the only source of water took care of activities such as washing of clothes and this was most times carried out along side fetching water for household activities hence contaminating the water and making it unhealthy for consumption. She had to beat the crowd to get ready for attending public school on time so she got up earlier than was required for a child.
As the first daughter of the family she was responsible for filling the house with water and assisting Mami in the kitchen, this task was no easy one as she had to make several trips to the borehole with hefty kegs to carry larger rations of water. The exhaustation after such labor every morning usually left her in no state to prepare her siblings for school or even pay attention in class but she had to do so as there was no alternative water source and failure to fetch the water meant that her family would have no source of clean water for the day.
Water is abundant in nature and it’s usefulness spans across multiple areas, from drinking water to stay healthy and aid the body with digestion and regularisation of body fluids, water is highly important for the human body.
Water aids in sanitation, keeping environment clean, clothes, cooking utensils, amongst lots others hence reducing rates of water borne diseases. Water is essential for farm produce as rain makes crops grow better and in areas where there is sparse rainfall the method of irrigation is adopted to make sure the crops grow at the time it is supposed to.
March 22 is celebrated as World Water Day as the day chosen to raise awareness for water related issues, and for highlighting the importance of safe and clean water. And the dangers involved with wasting water especially in regions that have limited supply. The use of contaminated drinking water and poor sanitary conditions result in increased vulnerability to water-borne diseases, including diarrhoea which leads to deaths of more than 70,000 children under five annually. That is why volunteers around the world especially in Nigeria are working to provide clean water sources mostly for communities that lack access to such opportunities, thereby reducing mortality rates.