ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi –
Worried by the six years water scarcity faced by physically challenged students of Special Education Center, Bauchi, a Non-Governmental Organisation based in the United Kingdom, ‘The Kairos Initiative’, has rehabilitated a 35,000 liters overhead tank at the school.
Speaking during the handing over of the facility to the school management on Wednesday, a member The Kairos Initiative, Dr. Aminu Babayi, who said that the overhead tank had been abandoned for six years, explained that the organization installed solar panels on the tank and carried out repairs of the taps in the school including the staff quartres to enable the school have 24 hours portable water supply.
Babayi said that the NGO’s gesture was aimed at putting smiles on the faces of the less privileged children who have suffered inadequate water.
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He said: “The Karios initiative is a group that is just about one year old, small group but we have big hearts and always want to reach out to people with love and kindness and compassion.”
According to him, the group has also carried out medical outreach to an orphanage and fed the orphans for six months among other projects in the past one year of its existence.
Another member of the group, Barrsiter Saratu Andrew, urged the management of the school and the students to properly maintain the facility.
“I want to beg you students to take very good care of this facility. If it is working, you will be happy but if it is not working you will not be happy because there is no water to use.
“It is your responsibility to take care of it which means if you see someone tempering with it you call the person’s attention or report to the Principal.
“Money has gone into this project and you wouldn’t want the school to be wasting money changing and fixing things, It is your responsibility to take care of the pumps, the tank and the taps,” she advised.
In a brief remark, the Principal of the school, Ishaku Dauda, expressed gratitude to the NGO for rehabilitating the long abandoned overhead tank and urged the students and staff to reciprocate the gesture by maintaining the facility.
He said that he would write a formal letter to the Ministry of Education in the state informing them of the NGO’s gestures to provide water for the school because, according to him, “this project was not executed for the school alone but to the ministry.”
The Principal expressed confidence that the newly activated overhead tank would solve the water problem of the Centre which has a population of 630 students and staff strength of 40.
He expressed the hope that the facility will bring to an end the shortage of water experienced in the school.
Founder of Kairos Initiative, Mrs Ije McDougall who spoke with journalists from her base in the United Kingdom via whatsapp video call, expressed gratitude that her organisation was putting smiles on faces of children.
McDougall said: “It humbles me, it is a humble feeling because I know what it is not to have water. I remember when I was growing up and I had to go and fetch water from our neighbour’s house or go further to fetch water, it was not easy and for somebody who is disabled either blind or deaf, that kind of situation is double trouble.
“So to be able to just make life a bit easier for them humbles me., I feel privileged that God is using me to be able to do that.”
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