CHARITY BOSS ON HIS MISSION TO HELP CITY DEVASTATED BY
44 Sunday Mail
Mount Nyiragongo sent a half-mile wide torrent of lava spewing towards the teeming city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It was one of the most damaging natural disasters in African history and presented Edinburgh- based charity Mercy Corps with the biggest challenge they have faced.
Now, 15 years on, workers and volunteers have completely rebuilt the city’s water supply, transforming the lives of Goma’s citizens.
Their work was funded through the UK Government’s overseas aid programme and local people were hired to key roles. Simon O’Connell, Mercy Corps Europe’s executive director, said: “Our infrastructure programme to bring clean water to more than one million people in the DR Congo epitomises who we are as an organisation.
“We take some of the most complex challenges in the world’s toughest env i ronments and join wi th communities and local organisations to find innovative solutions, now and for the future.
“The UK Government have been integral to the success of our programme.
“Breaking through volcanic rock to construct kilometres of water piping has been no easy task and there have been challenges and setbacks along the way. Without the partnership, trust and adaptability from the Government, we would not be reaching more than 160,000 people with clean water now and aiming to reach more than one million in the coming years.
“Living in Scotland, many of us take for granted our access to clean water. We can open a tap and drink from it secure in the knowledge that we won’t become ill.
“But when your life has been turned upside down by conflict and a volcanic eruption adds to your misery, you don’t have that luxury. We’re glad we can be there to help.”
Around 150 people died in the 2002 eruption from asphyxiation by carbon dioxide or from the crush caused by collapsed buildings.
The number of fatalities would have been many times greater had the
volcanic monitoring experts not foreseen the eruption.
In the wake of the disaster, Lake Kivu became the major source of water for many people in the city – exposing them to waterborne diseases which contributed to many chronic illnesses. Almost all suffered from stomach ache due to drinking contaminated water.
The alternative was trying to collect enough rainwater to drink.
Children and adults died from conditions such as chronic diarrhoea. Health centres were inundated with cases linked to the poor water quality.
But work to reconstruct the supply network was hampered by challenges such as faulty or inadequate plant machinery. It meant the tough rock