By Aliyu Baba Mohammed
Women and children in Hawan Kari village of Rahama Ward, Soba Local Government Area in Kaduna State are forced to use contaminated stream water for drinking, bathing and washing because of the nonfunctioning of government-installed handheld boreholes in neighbouring communities.
The village, which includes several small Fulani settlements, has no functional water source of its own apart from shallow wells that can easily dry out. Residents trek some kilometers daily to a stream that serves as their only option for water. The stream, exposed to animal waste and environmental pollution, poses serious health risks to the villagers.
We have no choice but to use the stream water most at times. We drink it, cook with it, bathe with it and wash our clothes…Sometimes our children get sick with diarrhea but we have nowhere else to get water, especially during the dry season when the wells run out of water – Hauwa Musa, from one of the Fulani settlements in Hawan Kari said in Hausa
The Kaduna State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (KAD-RUWASSA) has installed solar-powered motorized boreholes in some communities across Soba Local Government Area. According to information available, the agency has been working to provide clean water access to rural communities in Kaduna State including Soba LG.
However, a resident of the area, Musa Idris, affirmed to DAWN HERALD reporter that many of these boreholes are not functioning optimally. Some have broken down completely while others work inconsistently, leaving communities like Hawan Kari to rely on unsafe water sources like shallow wells and dirty streams.
The problem of non-functional water projects in Soba didn’t start recently; it is a prolonged problem. In 2021, The Sun Newspaper reported that KAD-RUWASSA failed water projects for durability tests in Soba, Chikun and Kaura local government areas of Kaduna State. The report, based on findings by Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW), revealed that several water projects executed by the agency in these areas were not standing the test of time.
The use of untreated stream water exposes residents, particularly women and children who fetch the water to waterborne diseases. Cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery and guinea worm are among the dangerous diseases that spread through contaminated water. Children under five years of age are especially vulnerable to severe diarrhea that can lead to dehydration and death.
The World Health Organization states that unsafe water is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths annually in developing countries. In rural Nigerian communities without access to clean water, rates of waterborne illness remain dangerously high. WHO estimates that up to 1.4 million deaths annually could be prevented with adequate access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Beyond health risks, the situation places an unfair burden on women and children who spend hours each day fetching water from distant streams. This time could be spent on education, income-generating activities or rest. According to information gathered, young children, especially girls, sometimes miss school because of water-fetching responsibilities.
Recommendation
The Kaduna State government through RUWASSA needs to urgently extend clean water infrastructure to Hawan Kari village and surrounding Fulani settlements. Installing functional solar-powered boreholes in these underserved areas would save lives and improve quality of life.
Equally important is maintaining existing boreholes in Soba Local Government Area. RUWASSA should conduct regular inspections and repairs to ensure that boreholes already installed continue to function properly. The 2021 durability concerns raised by LANW highlight the need for better quality control and long-term maintenance planning.
Communities should also receive training on basic borehole maintenance to prevent breakdowns. A partnership between RUWASSA, local government authorities and community members could ensure that water projects remain functional for years rather than a few months.
For Hawan Kari residents, access to clean water is not just about convenience but survival. Every day that passes without a safe water source is another day that women and children risk contracting potentially fatal diseases from the stream they have no choice but to use.
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