Darussalam lacks safe, clean drinking water, Dead Snakes Often Found in the Well

The villagers have to fetch water from a 55-metre deep local well using a pulley. They use the water for all domestic purposes. Livestock owners also fetch water from the same well for their animals such as cattle, goats and sheep among others.

Speaking to The Point exclusively, Adama Jobe, chairperson for the Village Development Committee (VDC) described the lack of a borehole in the village as one of their greatest constraints.

“Getting water is very difficult in this community. We have to fetch water from a well of about 55 meters deep. Sometimes we would fetch water with our hands using pulley and sometimes we use our donkeys to draw the water,” he said. 

He revealed that the lack of borehole has severely affected the entire residents, justifying that fetching water from such wells is very difficult considering the deepness of the well.

He called on government, non-governmental organisations and philanthropists to provide them with modern standard water facility such as a borehole in order to improve their living condition.

Hurrai Ndaw, a women leader, told this medium that the women find it very difficult to fetch water from the well due to its deepness.

She said fetching water with hands from the well usually injures their palms but despite the hurts, they have to continue fetching because there is no other option to get water at the village.

The women leader unveiled that most of her colleagues often experience general body pain as a result of the extensive labour they employ when fetching and transporting water from the well to their various homes for domestic purpose.

“Sometimes, we would get sick and rush to health facility for treatment,” he claimed.

Hurrai said the water facility is uncovered and exposed to dust, adding: “We often find dead snakes in the well.”

She emphasised that there is a great need for the village to have a borehole to ensure they have potable water.

Darussalam is approximately 340 Kilometers away from Banjul, and about 40 kilometers away from Janjanbureh, the regional administrative town of CRR.