Clara Town and West Point a WASH sensitive
slum communities in Monrovia on Wednesday received a numbers of
Journalists from thirteen West African countries presently attending a
general annual meeting of WASH Journalists in collaboration with
partners in the water sanitation and hygiene sector.
The field visit in Clara Town and West point is part of the five days
plan for the annual meeting in Liberia. while the field visit is
intended to afford the Journalists first hand information concerning the
WASH problem in Liberia.
The team of journalists first arrived in Clara town where the
commissioner of the township received the team and commended the
journalists for their interest before taking them on a guided tour of
the community. At one of two toilets in the community of over fifty
thousand residents the journalists immediately started their normal
journalistic work in conducting spot interviews with individuals in the
community on the Water sanitation and hygiene problems.
A mother of three children ages 15, 10 and 6 express shock about the
appalling conditions of the sanitary condition in the Clara area,
specifically the toilets facilities which according to her are a killer
ground for those that use it. “I use the toilet sometimes but, I stop
because I got sick from using the toilet, it is not hygienic I decided
to defecate outside in plastic and later throw it in the Du River right
behind my house.”
Another middle girl only identify as Baby girl said similar thing is
done whenever her little sister 16 years old defecate. She complains
further that the toilet facility has become of a first come first served
system in using it due to the huge queue usually found there despite of
money they paid due to the toilets limited rooms inside.” Another 52
years old charcoal dealer mama Fatumata said the shortage of water in
the community is force at times to go without bathing for days “I don’t
really feel fine as a woman. But what to do” she averred.
In West Point, the commissioner of the township said beaches in the
community was used as a source of defecation in the past by the
community dwellers. However he acknowledges that with the help of the
maritime bureau the situation has reduced.
Touring the community it is observed that most of the West Pointers
live in appalling sanitary conditions as many of the residents
complained about open defecation by both men and women alone the Du
River. They also complain about the congested housing construction in
the community which they say is contributing to the bad hygienic
condition as well as the lack of safe drinking water.
Evidently concerning the community claims, Journalists were attracted
by sight seeing of openly defecation while in the field on facts
finding alone the Du River by the residents’ children. “May be that is
the only way the government will act promptly to resolved the poor WASH
issues in west by what the little has done in the open. “Everybody does
that here too” A fifty five years old resident Bloe Myers remark. The
problem of WASH is serious in those two communities if nothing is done
by the national government to have the just signed WASH compact document
by the president for any concrete action the people of those
communities risk deaths and diseases an official of the community warned
.
As this article illustrates so much more work has to be done. Help by looking for a charity to contribute to.
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