Confirmed reports from Barrow Kunda village in the Wuli West district of the Upper River Region have it that thieves on 15th November 2010 stole seven solar panels which served a borehole that supplies water to the village.
The village's solar-powered water supply system was installed by the government more than ten years ago, and was the main source of clean water for the community.
According to Foday Barrow, the village alkalo, the incident has caused a big water supply problem for the community.
He said that since the unfortunate incident, there is acute water shortage in the village, making women in particular to suffer most in providing families with clean water.
"As you can see for yourself, women start assembling at the only hand pump in search for water as early as 4am. They do this just to have some water in their homes before going to the farms," the alkalo lamented to this reporter, who just returned from Barrow Kunda.
Mrs Matta Fatty, a women's leader, described the incident as the most unfortunate ever to hit the community.
"Could you imagine a big community like Barrow Kunda without pipe borne water? This is the beginning of the suffering of women here," she complained.
They are appealing to the government and donor organisations to help the village to restore the borehole system.
"We need water not only for family use, but also for our many animals," said Yahya Sumareh, board chairperson of Beakanyang organisation, who expressed his organisation's willingness to search for help for the community.
Meanwhile, any institution or individual that may wish to help the community in this trying moment could contact them on 00220 3636408 or 00220 7317988 or better still email them via beakanyang@yahooo.com.
