Adequate access to clean water allows communities to thrive mentally, spiritually and physically as clean water helps people flourish in communities by reducing the strain on the bodies of women and children who carry heavy water containers while walking for hours every day to collect water for their families. In a bid to complement the effort of Government and the People of Sierra Leone, the Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, based in Turkiye has handed over a modern borehole water well facility to the Bamoi Community in Kambia District.
Delivering his address at the ceremony, Regional Director of Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, Sheikh Mohamed Lamin Fofanah, maintained that commissioning the modern borehole water well fit with water tank, solar panel and 15 taps demonstrates that they have meet the drinking water standard of the Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO). He stressed that the construction of the water plant was a dire need of the community as children have to cross over the highway to fetch water and the community reported incidence of accidents whilst crossing the highway, coupled up with several other incidences involving the girls schooling and well being, that is why they thought it wise to help the community.
Mr. Fofanah emphasized that the provision of water will no doubt help the community in addressing several challenges as the community always attract hundreds of traders from different areas for the local trade called Luma. He noted that safe, accessible and readily available drinking water is very important to public health as it ensures the health of a community as a whole.
He thanked Turkiye Diyanet for their assistance to the community in providing the modern water well facility worth thousands of dollars and disclosed that they are presently constructing this same facility in Makeni, Kono, Bo, Lunsar and Freetown, He reiterated that this serves as an addition to the development already embarked on in the construction of Mosques, taking care of the Orphans and Widows in different parts of the country and thanked the Government for their support in giving an open arm for donor partners to complement their effort.
Mr. Fofanah ended his statement by encouraging and emphasizing that the community should work with the care taker committee that will be formed so that they will address the issue of maintenance.
In his remarks, speaker of the chiefdom, Abdul Petrol Kamara, reiterated that the project is not only for the Bamoi Community but the whole of Magbema Chiefdom in Kambia District, as the Bamoi Community is a melting point for people coming from every part of the country to do business. He expressed his thanks to government, the donors from Turkiye Diyanet and the regional director, Sheikh Mohamed Lamin Fofanah for his relentless effort in implementing the project.
Mr. Kamara assured Turkiye Diyanet on behalf of the Paramount Chief that they will take care of the facility by ensuring that the project is sustained in their community and called for more support for other parts of the country as it is very important for people to access safe drinking water.
In her vote of thanks, Mrs Salamatu Bangura expressed her joy for the project as she believes that this project has really help them to address a very important need as there is no way they can do without water. She noted that most of their kids will now concentrate on their schooling rather than spending hours going in search of water.
She assured them that they will form a monitoring team to see that the project is properly utilised. She prayed for the well-being of the donors and hope they will continue to give more assistance not only to the Bamoi Community but to the country as a whole.
The program was climaxed with prayers for the donors, the Government and the Regional Director.
