Donated by Eurest through purchases of Life Water

The bore-well in New Side Community once served 150 households. When conflict broke out in Yei, many other families seeking security made their way to this community that is located 1.5 miles away from the town. An estimated 2,000 people were using this well for relief, and no fees were charged during that time. Now that peace is established in this area and people are resettling to their communities, the bore-well at New Side community will continue to serve an average of 840 people. However, the overuse of the well caused damage and repairs were urgently required. Many community members had to resort to using bore-wells in neighbouring towns, where they had to pay high fees. The reality of life in Yei River State means that most families cannot afford to pay fees, and so seek water from dirty ground sources.

Joy Ibba is a committee member of the newly restored well, and is continuing to oversee the maintenance of the well and the area that surrounds it. She is overjoyed that she no longer has to spend her time fetching water from other regions. Her focus can centre on her children and on selling produce in the market to earn an income for her family, and to send her children to school.

This project was undertaken as part of our campaign of projects that actively reduce carbon emissions. This project helped the community save their much needed wood which was previously being burnt daily to boil water. This project has also eliminated the many thousands of hours previously spent on walking to collect water.