DR Congo – For those who follow our activities in Ituri, it is no secret that bringing drinking water to the people in difficult and dangerous conditions is quite a challenge. However, the need is high: the provincial capital Bunia is outgrowing its limits and the drinking water infrastructure cannot keep up.
Partner CIDRI (Centre d’initiation au développement rural en Ituri) and Join For Water are implementing an ambitious project to provide drinking water for an additional 39,000 people. All those involved in implementing this project face multiple challenges. There are the safety concerns, the large time investment required, the bad weather and the fact that the source areas – also called the production area – are deserted.
However, construction of the network should be completed by the end of 2022. CIDRI therefore wants to deal creatively with all these challenges.
In the absence of local labor in the source area, which remains unsafe, CIDRI recruits workers in Bunia. A rented truck is used to transport them to and from the Ritsi hills, 26 km away. CIDRI asked the military governor to allow the same truck to also be used to transport the military personnel in charge of safety of the workers. That transportation costs a lot, and that cost was not anticipated.
The kiosks are ready for use
CIDRI is not alone in its lobbying of the provincial authorities for the success of the project; the people waiting for drinking water and the local press and radio stations are also participating. Drinking water users are intensively sensitized by CIDRI’s animators and already made possible the construction of ten water kiosks in the distribution area.
The workers of CIDRI realize that only a few months remain to bring this water project to a successful conclusion, the harsh weather conditions do not stop them from going on site.
Original text : Innocent Ngandru Thomani, director CIDRI
More about our partner CIDRI