Y ONE OF AFRICA’S WORST NATURAL DISASTERS
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had to be painstakingly broken down by hand tools instead in order to get through to lay down pipes. In some cases, workers had to burn rubber and pour liquid on the volcanic rock in order to make it crack to dig through. It has taken 10 years of construction and innovative thinking from the charity’s engineers to reintroduce safe water. The new system pumps water from Lake Kivu to several huge reservoirs which store and treat the water and then on to Goma’s residents. The Mercy Corps team repaired and constructed miles of pipeline in the lava rock and built tap stands through the city’s neighbourhoods. By 2014, there were 57 water points created – each with four taps. For local families, it means the arduous task of gathering water takes minutes instead of hours.
Local s say the water terminals have brought a massive improvement to their lives.
Mum Tabu Odette, 48, said: “Before Mercy Corps brought water here, I used to get water from Lake Kivu.
“My two sons and I had to wake up at night between 3am and 4am and walk three hours there and back.
“But the quantity of water we brought home was not sufficient to cook, clean the house, do laundry and wash.
“Today, we a re in a paradise. We have a lot of water. I just walk less than 10 minutes to reach the water point and get as much water as I want.
“I can have a shower any time or wash my clothes.”
Another local , Justine Migabo, 25, said: “When I was young, I spent all my time just trying to find water.
“Now it is much better. We have reduced the distance and time that we were spending searching for water.”
Mercy Corps have reached 160,000 people in the area with clean water. Ultimately, they aim to reach one million.
The charity, who operate in more than 40 countries, hire staff in areas where they are based. They have 64 people employed on the water project, including 50 Congolese locals. Three staff are involved in supporting the work from their Edinburgh HQ.
But the DRC is not without other challenges. Despite its wealth of human and natural resources, it struggles with conf lict, a lack of infrastructure and weak governance.
Mercy Corps began their work there 10 years ago and still have much to do.
Simon added: “Because of the nature of the armed conflict, projects like this don’t really make it into the news.
“But we see how much bringing the basics such as water can change lives.
“We see the value that comes from even giving a little blue bar of soap to children.
“It’s life-saving work and it means so much to these people.”