Clean and sustainable water

Access to clean water is one of the biggest challenges facing the communities of Khanfar district  in Abyan governorate and this due to the lack of water sources that operate as most of the water supply services stopped functioning because of the dereliction they exposed to since the start of the conflict in Yemen that took place in march 2015, in addition to that , the ongoing fuel crisis , shortage of fuel and absence of the water sources maintenance cycle were other reasons that exacerbated the problem. Consequently, the residents of Kadmat Aslan that located in Khanfar district have to cover their needs of the daily water requirements through the few wells that are located far away from their homes. Women, children, and animals spent most of their days traveling for several hours in order to fetch water. The roundtrip takes hours, and is with risk. In response, NMO quickly evaluated the needs of the area and offered the solution to the area with the aim of assessing the sustainability of the area’s main water source which will contribute to provide access to clean water, improve sanitation facilities and the knowledge attitude toward practicing good hygiene behavior. The project is implemented by Nahda Makers Organization (NMO), and funded by Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF).

Nahda Makers met with Saida Ali a mother of two children, 38 years old and a resident in the village of Kadamat Aslan ,. Saida who lives with a family of 7 members in a small house is one of the beneficiaries form the integrated WASH and food security response in Khanfar district Abyan Governorate.

Saida talked about how her family was suffering from a severe lack of water “Suffering from water shortage for many years has forced us to think a lot about sourcing water for daily needs, getting water from the old distributed water points was conducted one time a week and only for two hours which led to increase the queuing time and that due to either fuel crisis or shortage.”  In addition, sometimes fights broke out at the water points because everyone waiting so long” Saida said. “For the other days of the week I, my children and other women were forced to travel for fetching water from other wells located in the other villages which exposed us to various dangers during our long trips.” Saida reported .Moreover, Saida talked about how her children were beard the primary responsibility for water collection. “My children were forced to drop out of school because they were busy collecting water , bringing water was one of their daily tasks. "The lack of water had affected on personal hygiene for all my family members as bathing was limited to three times a week," Saida Added..

NMO has intervened and supported the community of Kadamat Aslan by rehabilitating the main water source and installing solar-powered water pumping systems and Saida was asked to give her opinion about the intervention. “Now I can cover my family and livestock needs of water, water is pumped directly into my home and this will not lead us to be worried anymore and end the risks and hardships of me and my children travels in search of water. Saida mentioned. No one of my children out of school, the intervention helped them at attending classes at their school, thanks NMO. She concluded.

Nahda Makers Organization (NMO) as part of integrated WASH and Food Security Support to the most vulnerable host communities in Khanfar district, Abyan governorate with funding from the Yemen Humanitarian Fund (YHF) intervened to rehabilitate the water sources in order to restore community water sources. NMO rehabilitated the well and the elevated tank, water distribution poin and part of the water network.Morover, the main water source is connected to a new installed solar pumping system. Within the scope of the project, a workshop was conducted water community committees and all members were trained on how to manage, operate and maintain their water supply scheme. A total number 496 households are now benefiting from the project.