MONROVIA, Montserrado – On this World Water Day, we aim to showcase the water crises that ordinary Liberians experience. Water shortage has been a problem over the years in one of the densely populated communities in Monrovia. The Neeganbo community located within Fiamah, Sinkor has a population of approximately 4,000 residents, majority of whom are young people, particularly children.

Most of the residents of this community have to wait around the well to get a gallon of water each from an open well. In order to get few buckets of water, the residents have to wake up early in the morning and afternoon and wait.

Photo credit: Joseph Zeogar

Amadu Morris, “Most cases when I get to the well I have to wait for hours because the well has gone dry. The well is a little distance from where I live. We are appealing to the government and NGOs to come to our aid. It is difficult to go to school on time.”

Photo credit: Joseph Zeogar

Philip Menyon, age 20, is also a resident of the community: “I have to wake up by 5:00 a.m. to get my water before going to work. I walked a distance from my house to get to the well.”

Photo credit: Joseph Zeogar

Patient Quarllah: “My boys wake up at 5 a.m. to get to the well. It takes more than  30 minutes before getting at least one bucket of water for our home. The distance is very far to get to the well. We have been facing this problem for a long time. Liberia is one of those African countries where malaria, diarrhea, dysentery and cholera are common. Scarcity of clean drinking water is the primary cause. Something must be done.”

Photo credit: Joseph Zeogar

Mamie Cole: “Over four thousand people living in this Neeganbo community and We don’t have safe drinking water here. We only have one well in this community. We have to wake up at 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. in the morning just to come to the well to enable us to draw water from the well because the water dries sometimes”.

Speaking at the well, Mamie noted, “I am still waiting for water. Because I did not come soon to draw from the well, the water is presently dry. I will not be able to cook today until I wait and get water. This has been like this for 15 to 20 years now. We have been like this. We walk from distances to come to this well. For me and my family, it can take us 20 minutes to get to the well while others take almost 30 minutes. People use sand bags to clean the water. During school time, our children get late because of water.”

Photo credit: Joseph Zeogar

Featured image courtesy of  Joseph Zeogar