April 13, 2017 By Ibrahim Tarawallie
A farmer scooping out water from a borehole at Mankneh Village close to Rotifunk Town, Moyamba District
A Sierra Leonean philanthropist residing in Norway has opted to provide safe-drinking water to Rotifunk township and its neighbouring villages with the rebuilding and construction of three hand-jerk pumps.
As the climate changes and the glowing sun continues to dry wet lands and leaving suburbs and inter-lands in a horrible state of despair, Alton Bendu’s intervention is seen as a welcome move by residents with the search for safe-drinking water becoming more burdensome for ill-privileged communities.
According to Mr. Bendu, water is one of the most important elements needed by all humans for which its safety cannot be abandoned.
He said it is against this backdrop that he has opted to renovate abandoned hand-jerk pumps and dig new ones to provide safe-drinking water for the residents of Rotifunk and its environs.
“One of the basic things people should direct their focus on is to ensure that our communities have clean pure water,” he said.
In Rotifunk, a colonial town located in Moyamba District, poverty perches on the roof of houses and on the outlook of the town itself and its sparsely populated people with demeaning constancy.
According to Pa Lamina Koroma, Headman of Mankneh Village, of all the worries in Rotifunk and villages nearby, water seems to be the most prevailing concern for residents because the wells are dry and their quest for water is high.
Pa Koroma said: “Since Care built us a tap in 1989 and the war destroying it with more people coming to the village, we have had difficult times getting pure water. The whole village had to resort to the drinking of contaminated water fetched in swamps.”
He welcomed the news about Alton Bendu’s intention of renovating the abandoned hand-jerk pumps and constructing three new ones.
For Councilor Abubakarr Mansaray of Ward 292 Bumpeh Chiefdom Moyamba District, the search for safe-drinking water and renovating abandoned wells are real crises for them. He thanked Alton Bendu immensely for being selfless.
In Rotifunk, children had to go two miles away from town to fetch water in swamps with boreholes containing algae. This has led to the poor performance of students in exams since they allocate their study time to the fetching of water.