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 water stewardship is impacting rural communities

Access to potable water is a challenge in many Sub-Saharan African countries including Nigeria. When the situation is mirrored against the background of infrastructural deficits and high cost of living that people in the sub-region have to contend with,  their woes are better imagined than seen.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), over 780 million people around the world do not have access to potable water, even as water-related diseases contribute 80 percent of all illnesses and deaths in developing world.

Poor access to potable water has economic consequences too.  No meaningful economic activity can be carried out when the productive segment of the population is vulnerable to all manner of environmental diseases.

This is perhaps why an organisation like the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Limited has been providing intervention in response to this sore point geared towards providing – unfettered access to safe drinking water in various host communities across the country. The multinationals, Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd(NBC’s sister organization) and Water Health International Nigeria set the tone through a partnership- The Safe Water for Africa Project, with the objective to provide healthy drinking water to underserved communities in Nigeria and equally provide job opportunities for the communities.

NBC has invested tremendously in the provision of water infrastructure in over 20 underserved communities across Nigeria. Under its ‘Water Stewardship Programme”, the company has ensured that over 300,000 people in these  communities have access to clean and safe drinking water.

One of the communities that benefited from the gesture is Mbaikya Community in Makurdi, Benue State. Prior to NBC’s water intervention in the community, residents  walked a distance of 5km to access water in neighbouring communities. During rainy seasons, they sourced their water from ponds that are formed whenever it rained. For residents of this community, raining season was always a season of celebration.Thanks to NBC’s Water Stewardship Initiative, they do not have to wait for the rains.

David Aki, a 90-year-old resident of Mbaikya community  volunteered, “Since I was born, we have been drinking from the ponds when it rains. In fact, the entire community depends on these ponds for domestic uses such as bathing, washing and cooking. The good news is that the story has changed for us in the community with the intervention of NBC through its water project. On behalf of the community, I like to say thank you to the company,” Aki said.

Apart from the provision of clean water facilities to communities ,NBC has been working on public education on  water management and conservation. During this year’s World Water Day, the company, in collaboration with key stakeholders such as State Ministries of Health and Local Governments, enlisted select students as ‘Water Ambassadors’. About 200 students from 10 secondary schools in Owerri and Kaduna States were trained and taken on a guided tour of NBC’s Waste Water Treatment plants. The goal was to equip these ‘leaders of tomorrow’ with the requisite knowledge to be key influencers in their families and communities and help promote best water practices and propagating NBC’s sustainable water conservation philosophy, particularly in the areas of water conservation and sanitation.

Explaining the philosophy behind the NBC’s Water Stewardship, the company’s Head of Public Affairs and Communications, Uzo Odenigbo, said that NBC places high premium on water issues because, “Water is the most important ingredient in our production process.”