By Fatoumatta K. Jallow
Women head of households and vendors in the sprawling urban settlement of Wellingara in the Kombo North District of West Coast Region (WCR) are complaining about the acute shortage of water for consumption.
When this reporter visited the area on Friday, 12 August 2016, she found some women wandering about in search of the precious commodity for drinking and cooking purposes.
Mariama Baldeh, a mother, disclosed that sometimes they have to stay for complete two days without a single droplet of water coming from their taps. “We hardly have water during the day time as it always come at night and very late night when people are already in bed and it goes before day break,” she lamented.
Isatou Njie, another resident, who is sole breadwinner sells cold water in bottles, said sometimes she does not have any water to sell because the taps are often close for days. “I depend entirely on this sale of cold water to earn income to sustain my family who are small children,” she said.
Binta Badjie, also another petty trader who sells ice blocks, reiterated the difficulties they often face in fetching water for their domestic consumption as well as for her small business due to the acute shortage of water in their neighbourhood.
The women and heads of households call on the authorities, including the national water company, NAWEC, to urgently address this acute problem and challenge which is affecting their livelihoods.
This reporter will contact NAWEC on the concerns raised by the Wellingara residents regarding the water supply situation.
