by Sylvester Gawi – EM TV, Lae
Villages that have been affected by floodwaters along the Bulolo Highway, in Morobe province, will now have access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities.
The people in the ward one area of the Mumeng LLG have been constantly facing shortages, particularly in obtaining clean fresh water since the 2013 flood, which affected their area.
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) assisted, by building a water tank and install water taps and an ablution facility at the village market.
In many areas that experienced floodwaters, the people are left to suffer with inadequate supplies of food and other necessities.
Their homes, food gardens, water sources and even lives are lost during the disaster.
For villages along the Timini section of the Bulolo highway in Morobe province, rebuilding lives after floodwaters have been challenging.
Access to clean drinking water sources and having proper sanitation facilities are difficult to build in this area and it poses a health risk for the people.
ADRA’s project manageress for water and sanitation, Sinedou Luguna, says their objective is to provide accessibility to clean water and sanitation facilities.
ADRA, with funding of more than K200,000 from the Bulolo district have built water facilities for the affected villages.
ADRA’s water and sanitation project uses basic plumbing methods to connect several sections of the village to the main water source.
The same mechanism has been widely used around the region, and in many parts of the world, to build water facilities for communities.
“The passion we have is the determining factor that drives us to bring the same services that the government provides,” says Ms Luguna.
Bulolo’s water problem is similar to that faced in other parts of Papua New Guinea; much of it caused by heavy rains and landslips from the mountainous regions.
The outflow of water runs through villages, damaging food gardens and covering water wells and toilets with sediments.
But while the government has made commitments to fix roads and bridges washed away by floods, rural water and sanitation projects remain under-funded.
