Environment
NGO Distributes 210 Water Treatment Solar Sacks to Women IDPs
Blu Impact, a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), has distributed 210 water treatment solar sacks to women Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Lagos.
Mrs Judith Obiajulu-Isaac, Co-founder, Blu Impact, gave out the items on Tuesday in Lagos at an event organised to teach the beneficiaries the importance of drinking safe water.
Obiajulu-Isaac told Newsmen on the sidelines of the event, that her organisation targets vulnerable people in vulnerable organised communities.
“People who probably don’t have access to things like safe drinking water, you know, are very susceptible to things like cholera, diarrhea and other waterborne diseases.
“We are basically here to provide simple solutions that will help these communities provide just basic things to improve their lives,” she said.
She said that the solar sack was an innovative water purification device that had the potential to make people have access to clean, portable water.
She said the sack’s unique approach to water purification is based on the use of the sun’s readily available energy to produce drinking water.
“To use the solar sack, simply fill the bag with water and place it in sunlight.
“After two to four hours, depending on the intensity of the sun, the water will be safe for drinking,” Obiajulu-Isaac said.
She said the ultraviolet rays of the sun and heat help in killing the germs in the water.
She added that going by the present exchange rate, each of the solar sacks cost $7.
Obiajulu-Isaac said the project was in partnership with Sesor Empowerment Foundation, who already was taking care of women IDPs in Lagos and across the country.
The co-founder said that they intend to engage the women in their neighborhoods to ensure that they were using the technology for their benefit.
“So, this is the pilot phase.
“We are targeting 10 million people in 10 years to ensure that they have access to clean, safe and portable water.
“60 million people in Nigeria don’t have access to safe drinking water.
“So, that’s the plan and we’re just starting with this 210 people.
“So in the next one year, if we can reach up to 500,000 people; that will be fantastic for us,” Obiajulu Isaac said.
She said that her organisation was open to partnerships with the government and the organised private sector to provide safe, portable and clean water for the majority of Nigerians.
On the acceptability of the solar sack for use, Obiajulu-Isaac said that the solar sack had gained international recognition.
“The solar sack is on the UN list of approved products for water purification. So internationally, it has gained recognition.
“It’s been used extensively in East Africa and in Ghana; so it does have industry certifications and all of that globally.
“However in Nigeria, we didn’t just want to rest on global certifications. We wanted to test its efficacy in our climate.
“So we had the Ministry of Water Resources ran a test on it in two main locations; one in Kano, and one in Lagos,” she said.
She said the different locations for examining the solar sack were as a result of the differentials intensity of the sun.
She said the test done in the North showed that after subjecting the solar sack to the sun for one hour, the bacteria and pathogens in the water were killed.
She said the same result was achieved in Lagos, but after the bag was left for about two to three hours, because of the cloudy nature of the city.
Also speaking, Mrs Merit Arike-Emmanuel, Head of Programmes, Sesor Empowerment Foundation, said the foundation worked with displaced persons to help them thrive by providing psychosocial and economic support for them.
She said they have provided support for the women in their businesses and the education of their children.
She also said that they are partnering with Blu Impact to address the water challenge of the women they catered for.
Newsmen report that Blu Impact was set out to lead development efforts by combining innovation and partnerships to create social impact.
It also strengthens vulnerable communities to build capacity to fight diseases. (NAN)
Environment
Prolonged Public Holidays Come with Negative Economic Effects on Citizens – Anambra Residents
Anambra residents have slammed the additional day approved by the Federal Government for the Muslim faithful to celebrate the 2024 Eid-Ei-Fitr, saying this will have negative effects on the economy.
The Federal government had early declared April 9 and 10 as Muslim-Ummah for the successful completion of a month’s spiritual rejuvenation.
Reports says that residents of Anambra capital city believe that the additional day which they did not plan for will result in economic hardship to the citizenry.
Most respondents believe that people had planned to resume their economic activities instead of wasting their time staying at home doing nothing..
Former Chairman, Awka Chamber of Commerce, Chief Felly Akosa, described the additional day to the two days approved earlier as “unfair to the economy of the country as people were unprepared for the additional day.
Akosa said that although it is right for the Muslim faithful to celebrate their holiday after a month-long fasting, the process needs to be carefully planned for in place of the additional rest day which could inhibit business activities.
Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, National Vice President of Igbo Apex Social Cultural body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said the policy would cause huge economic waste as businesses are put on hold,
He advised that, in future, a proper and well planned programme needs to be in place before declaring a public holiday for any celebration that will be national.
“Our economy and other sectors are not very healthy,” and it would, therefore be appropriate to plan well to avoid declarations that will hamper the citizens’ welfare.
Mazi Christian Beluchukwu, a business man in Awka, described the extension of the Eid-El-Fitr public holiday to Thursday, April 11, as an added hardship for the citizenry.
Beluchukwu said that any public holiday for three days, April 9 to 11, to celebrate any feast in the country is an economic loss to the nation.
He said that it was best to stick to the two-day national public holidays as this gives room for the people to plan their activities very well.
He stated that his wife went to a public hospital on Tuesday and was unattended to because there was no doctor on seat to provide medical attention.
“She resorted to visiting a private hospital which cost extra money which the public hospital is expected to handle at a reasonable cost. (NAN)
The Jos Water Services Corporation (JWSC) has said that the World Bank fund received would be used to boost water supply to Bukuru and environs in Jos South Local Government Area.
Mr Apollos Samchi, the Managing Director of the corporation, said that N1.7 billion would be expended on the rehabilitation of water treatment plant, over head steel tank and laying of pipes to homes of consumers.
Samchi, who disclosed this on Friday in Jos, during a two-day capacity building workshop, said that the projects were expected to be completed in four months.
Reports says that the workshop organised for contractors has at its theme: “Implementation of Environmental and Social Management Plans for Projects in Jos South.
The MD said that the projects would ensure steady provision of potable water to residents in Gyel and Kurgiya in Jos South Local Government Area.
He said the treatment plant when rehabilitated would pump out 5,000 cubic litres of water daily.
The MD further stated that the reticulation exercise would cover residents who weren’t initially connected to public water supply in the area.
Samchi said that the essence of the workshop was to ensure that the contractors were trained to develop adequate measures and controls to minimise and mitigate potential environmental and social risks that could adversely affect the project implementation.
He called on all the contractors handling the projects to ensure that they adhered to the environmental and safety standards and deliver within the specified timeframe.
In his remarks, Mr Jonathan Malann, the Plateau Project Coordinator, Sustainable Urban, Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene programme (SURWASH), also advised contractors to adhere to the environmental and safety standards as provided by the World Bank.
The Federal Government had received $700m financing from the World Bank to ensure that all its people have access to sustainable and safely managed WASH services.
The seven participating states are Plateau, Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Katsina, and Kaduna.(NAN)
The Gombe State Executive Council (SEC) has approved payment of N389 million as compensation for residents that would be affected by the gully erosion control project at Federal College of Education (FCE) Technical and its surrounding communities.
The Commissioner for Finance, Gombe State, Malam Mohammed Magaji, stated this at the end of the SEC meeting on Friday in Gombe.
Magaji said the payment, which would commence immediately, would be for individuals and organisations along the gully erosion site.
He said almost 1000 persons were expected to benefit from the gesture.
According to him, the compensation is part of the requirements of the World Bank, which specifies that such payments be made to property owners.
Magaji said the payment would also be made to ensure seamless resettlement of affected persons.
“The beneficiaries are in hundreds, almost a 1,000 people; there is compensation for houses, and also for business premises.
“There is also stipends for the elderly living around that area so that they are able to have good livelihood,” he said.
The commissioner for Education, Hajiya Aishatu Maigari, also said the SEC approved upgrade of the five mega senior secondary schools in the state to sustain improvement in the education sector.
Maigari said the upgrade would be carried out based on the needs of each of the schools.
She stated that infrastructure in some of the schools were already being upgraded to global standards.
“We have seen construction of toilets, installation of solar-powered light, construction of roads, school clinics, boreholes and many more,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government had on Nov. 23 signed a N12 billion contract with Triacta Nigeria Ltd. for a 21-kilometre gully erosion control work in six communities within Gombe metropolis.
The project is under ACRESAL project, a World Bank-assisted project to address the challenges of land degradation and climate change in northern Nigeria. (NAN)
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