Seyi Tayese, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Education Development Trust Fund (BYEDTF) has inaugurated a 9,000-litre capacity water project at Comprehensive Secondary School (CSS), Toru Ndoro, in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.
The water project in the rural school along the bank of River Forcados was in collaboration with the Sustainable Partnership Initiative for Development (SPID).
The project is part of the BYEDTF and SPID’s commitment to improving schools and communities under the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) program.
Dr Alice Atuwo, Executive Secretary of BYEDTF noted that the project marks the fourth intervention for a public secondary school in the state.
According to her, the fund had completed and hand over similar initiatives at CSS Okutukutu, Yenagoa, CSS Tungbo, Sagbama and the Kaiama Grammar School.
“This water project is more than just an infrastructural project for us at the BYEDTF, it is a lifeline for our school and the community, being a source of potable water in the face of prevailing health challenges.
“No longer will our students go to the river to fetch water for their sanitary needs and for drinking, which is an unsafe source.
“This is the fourth water project that the BYEDTF is executing in partnership with development agencies for seconday schools in the state, other than the boarding Model Secondary Schools,” Atuwo said.
In his speech at the event, Acting Chairman of the BEDTF board, Prof. Francis Sikoki, thanked SPID for their partnership and urged the Toru Ndoro community to safeguard and utilize the water project judiciously.
Also speaking, Dr Weli Igiridi, Project Coordinator for SPID, highlighted the the objectives of the BYEDTF aligns with SPID’s and was the justification for their participation.
He said the collaboration’s focus on community impact was fundamental, emphasizing that the water project would help prevent outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases in the school,
Dr Charles Daniel, Chairman of the State House of Assembly Committee on Education, who performed the inuaguration, lauded the EDTF and SPID for their intervention.
Mr Felix Odubo, National Chairman of the Ndoro Urban Association, expressed appreciation for the gesture and assured that the community would take ownership of the project.
Odubo pledged to personally take responsibility for the maintenance of the project as part of his contributions to complement the gesture by the BYEDTF and SPID.
Mrs Lilian Porri, the school’s Principal, said that the project was answer to her prayers following her ailment of Cholera when she assumed duties in the school.
She expressed gratitude to the BYEDTF and SPID for the project.
She noted that the initiative would significantly alleviate the challenges faced by students and staff in accessing clean water.
Porri called on government to urgently address the deteriorating state of the school building, which they warned could collapse if left unattended.
The event was attended by members of the BYEDTF board, Pius Odumotu, CDC Chairman of Toru Ndoro Community, and Mr. Okubo Bright, Youth President of the community, among others.
