ALLEVIATION OF WATER PROBLEM IN ADI-BIDEL VILLAGE OF ERITREA
Dr. Ravinder Rena
[Eritrea Institute of
Technology]
The Government has been working
hard to accelerate the work on water and sanitation in the rural sector areas
of Eritrea in partnership with the local and international community. In line
with this, the water problem in Adi-Bidel village is been alleviated recently.
On 12 July 2007, microdam was
constructed in Adi-Bidel which has a capacity of holding 90,000 cubic meters;
consequently, the problem of potable water supply has been alleviated. The
micro-dam that was built at cost of 3 million Nakfa has already stored 70,000
cubic meters of water in the current rainy season. The Ministers of agriculture
and education, Mr. Arefaine Berhe and Mr. Semere Russom, the Administrator of
the Central region, Mr. Tewelde Kelati, and invited guests attended the
inauguration ceremony. The micro-dam is also expected to facilitate irrigation
farming on 9 hectares. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Tewelde Kelati called on
the local inhabitants to properly manage the new facilitate and plant seedlings
to protect it from flooding. In a related report, the construction of a
micro-dam in Aderada, Galanefhi sub-zone, at a cost of some 3 million Nakfa has
been finalized. The micro-dam that was constructed in collaboration with Wina
Construction Company and the people has a capacity of holding 300,000 cubic
meters. The inhabitants of the area commended the efforts the government has
exerted and said that would step up their contribution in development
endeavors. Aderada is located about 21km. South-west of Asmara.
It was
like a dream for the people of Adi-Bidel village to see water running from a
nearby water source after 16 years of independence. From all corners of the village
men, women and children ran immediately to the water point, as if they have
never seen water before.
Adi-Bidel
is a village with a population of over 1000, benefited with this project. The
village is located 22 km south-west of Asmara town. Like most Eritreans, the
people of Adi-Bidel are farmers dependent on rain-fed crops, or pastoralists.
It is not only the adults that suffered hardship. The prolonged drought has had
a direct impact on the lives of the children as well. Ghirmawith, Asmeret, Fousia
and Ruth have forgotten how to play games like children of their age would
normally do.
Instead,
every day the girls walk 10 to 15 km bearing the adult responsibility of
providing water for their families. With the blazing sun and hot climate it is
hard to believe that humans are able to survive here by fetching water from
such far places. Only older generations remember the lush green hills and
abundant harvests. A drought which started four years ago transformed the
landscape into a desert where the main occupation is a daily search for food
and water.
Ghirmawith
and her friends spend entire days far from their home and are not going to
school anymore. "I stopped going to school at the semester’s break because
I spend most of the night and the whole day searching for water," says
Ruth. "I stood fourth last year in my class but this year I had no good
performance because I had little time to study. At last I just gave up going to
school."
Yohannes
Woldu is a teacher at the Junior School in Adiguadat about 10 Km far from
Asamra. His students come from six neighbouring villages. He complains that
students sleep during classes, they do not do their homework or leave school
completely. "I have been teaching here for five years and students were
all right but now it is a discouraging situation. The water problem has put
their development on hold," he explains.
"The
well is only 300 meters away from the village and it takes only 5-10 minutes to
fill a twenty liters jerry can," says Fousia. Fresh and easily accessible water means much more for children
who may now resume their education.
Ruth says
with a dream in her eyes: "I am eager to go back to school and have more
time for study." But when she goes back to class, Ruth will find that many
fellow students are still missing. The situation for children, especially the
girls, has not improved in many villages in the area. There is still a lot of
work to be done for the community members, who will need continued support.
Drought,
combined with conflict, produced a food and water crisis in Eritrea. Thousands
of people died and many more were displaced. The number of families sacrificing
their animals for immediate consumption is increasing. The response from
international donors has been insufficient, resulting in a reduction of both
ration size and the number of people receiving assistance.
The ground water level has
decreased from year to year with the failure of rain. Deepening the wells is
not a solution any more as the ground water cannot be reached without sophisticated
drilling equipment.
Long-term work is focusing on
improved food security by facilitating the recharge of ground water levels
through construction of check and subsurface dams as well as introducing dry
land farming techniques. . Ravinder Rena is Associate Professor of Economics at the Eritrea
Institute of Technology. His two most recent books published by New Africa
Press in December 2006 are: A Handbook on the Eritrean Economy: Problems and Prospects for
Development, and, Financial
Institutions in Eritrea. Author can be contacted for feedback
comments via: ravieritrea2007@gmail.com
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