For residents of Gidan Zaki and Hayin Labi communities in Kafur and Bakori Local Government Areas of Katsina State, the provision of boreholes by Mishpael Fountain Ministry is like the discovery of oil, writes Francis Sardauna
It was a carnival-like scene on a recent Saturday morning as residents of Gidan Zaki community in Kafur Local Government Area of Katsina State rolled out drums and their sleeves to celebrate their first-ever hand-propelled pump water source after decades of poor access to potable water.
The community residents which had lived all their lives without a portable water source were full of enthusiasm and revolutionary fervour following the successful drilling and inauguration of the community’s first borehole by Mishpael Fountain Ministry (MFM).
Before MFM came to the aid of the invariably neglected community, the residents relied solely on unclean sources of water like a stagnant body of water which gathers after rainfall and dirty wells where they stored rainwater during the rainy season for use in the dry season.
The agrarian community which has an estimated population of 5,000, had been suffering from lack of clean water for many decades thereby exposing its inhabitants to various preventable water-borne diseases. Residents of the community, who are predominantly farmers, spent less time on their farms because they had to search for safe water.
However, with the installation of the water facility by the Mishpael Fountain Ministry, residents said access to the potable water had brought succour and improved health, increased agricultural production and food sufficiency in the community.
One of the residents, Mrs Lydia Ishaku, said the community has never experienced an intervention of this magnitude and impact since its creation 50 years ago, adding that the provision of the borehole will go a long way in curbing water-borne diseases and improve their health.
She said: “I cannot begin to count the changes that will occur in this community as a result of the installation of this water facility. First, the way I go about my house chores will be different because, with water close to home, I have the strength to carry out my chores effortlessly. My hygiene will also improve.
“After years of suffering due to lack of potable water, you can see what it means to us judging from the excitement on our faces. We thank Mishpael Fountain Ministry for drilling this borehole for us. It is indeed a great help to this community and other neighbouring villages.”
With the provision of potable water by the non-profit making organisation, Mrs Ishaku admitted that she will now live a better life. She added that the humanitarian intervention will improve her personal hygiene and that of the family, and other residents of the community.
Another resident, Ishaku Gidan-Zaki, told THISDAY that the borehole drilled by Mishpael Fountain Ministry was the first of its kind in the over 50 years history of the community. He expressed happiness and thanked the organisation and its partners for coming to their aid.
He, however, said before the MFM’s intervention, residents of the community depend solely on unclean sources of water and sometimes share a stream which was their main source of water with cattle and other animals.
In Gidan Zaki and its environs, he said, a stream which flows through bushes and rocks serves as the only source of water for people and animals and that was a cumbersome task for residents, adding that the story had changed because of the provision of the borehole.
He added that: “Life was very difficult for everyone in this community, particularly children and women because of the difficulty in accessing water, not even clean water. But now we have a very big relief because of this borehole. We will forever remain grateful to this organisation.”
As Ishaku and other residents of Gidan Zaki continue to wallow in an atmosphere of euphoria, residents of Hayin Labi village in Bakori local government area of Katsina State are also celebrating their first borehole drilled by the Mishpael Fountain Ministry.
With no public water supply and no borehole in the community, residents of Hayin Labi depended on alternative means of water supply such as streams and locally dug wells. Some of the residents had to contend with the difficulty of trekking a long distance with bad terrain to reach a spring far away from the community.
Residents of the community also noted that before the MFM’s intervention, the available sources of water for them were not only difficult to access but in most cases the water is not safe for drinking and domestic use.
The news that a borehole was successfully drilled with good water gushing out to the surface was received with ecstasy in the community. The residents said it has relieved the burden of the scarcity of water which “bites so hard” for many decades in the community.
“This water project is a dream come-true. I am overwhelmed seeing this water project happening in my community. We thank Mishpael Fountain Ministry for giving us this borehole in our community”, Ibrahim Shehu, a resident of the community said.
Perhaps the euphoria in Gidan Zaki and Hayin Labi communities over the boreholes would not have come to light if the Misphael Fountain Ministry did not come to the aid of the seemingly neglected agrarian areas.
Speaking shortly after the inauguration of the hand-propelled pump water systems in the communities, the Programme Officer of Mishpael Fountain Ministry, Mr. Tinat Joseph, said the faith-based organisation drilled the boreholes in the communities in order to assuage the suffering of the residents.
He explained that the drilling of the boreholes was after a thorough need assessment conducted by the organisation in the communities, adding the gesture was part of the organisation’s social corporate responsibility aimed at tackling the sufferings faced by the needy.
Joseph reiterated that the organisation had drilled 15 boreholes in communities in Katsina, Benue, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Kano and Kaduna States, adding that: “In Katsina alone, we provided four boreholes, and the two we just commissioned are the fourth ones we constructed in the state”.
He added, “In Katsina State, we constructed boreholes in Gidan Baso community in Kafur; Gidan Dado Community in Danja and we just commissioned additional two in Gidan Zaki and Hayin Labi communities in Kafur and Bakori local government areas.
“In Kano State, we drilled a borehole in Gidan Yaji community in Rogo LGA. We also drilled boreholes in Soda community in Kajuru LGA, Kalapi 2 community in Chikun LGA, Hayin Garba community in Soba LGA,
Kunkumi community in Makarfi LGA, Kibori ECWA Primary Health Care in Zango Kataf LGA and
Nimgon Titi community in Sanga LGA in Kaduna State.
“We also drilled a borehole in the Kondoro Koro community in Karu LGA of Nasarawa State. While in Benue State, we constructed a borehole in the Antso community in Guma LGA to ease hardship faced by residents in the benefiting communities.
“Similar interventions were carried out by our organisation in the Baran Dutse community, Sabon Layin community in Bauchi LGA, Gada Doka community in Toro LGA and Kyanda community in Alkaleri LGA in Bauchi state.”
He said MFM has been providing clean sources of drinking water for rural and marginalised communities, mobilising and empowering communities for peaceful co-existence and sustainable development, providing food aid and medical intervention and organising skill training for sustainable development for widows, orphans and the underprivileged in the society.
However, for residents of Gidan Zaki and Hayin Labi communities in Kafur and Bakori local governments, the drilling of the boreholes is like the discovery of oil. These water borehole systems will enhance access to safe water, adequate sanitation and proper hygiene, among others.
Although the residents continue to relish their new sources of clean water supply, they are hoping and waiting for the provision of other social amenities such as hospitals, schools, roads and electricity by both the federal and state governments.
But with the mission of encouraging, equipping and empowering for God’s kingdom, Mishpael Fountain Ministry has a vision of being a hand, voice and feet of Christ in building bridges and bringing peace to fractured lives in Northern Nigeria and it had successfully brought succour to many derived communities in the country.
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However, with the installation of the water facility by the Mishpael Fountain Ministry, residents said access to the potable water had brought succour and improved health, increased agricultural production and food sufficiency in the community
