“Plight of Runde Bin Village: Water Scarcity Impacts Education and Livelihoods”
By Muhammad Sani Muazu
In a remote village of Runde Bin, located less than 10 kilometers from the city center of Bauchi, approximately 500 residents and their animals rely solely on a single well for drinking water and daily chores.
The recent report by Albarka Radio shed light on the severe water scarcity and the hardships faced by the villagers.
This prompted the Bauchi state government to pledge the digging of a borehole to alleviate the villagers’ suffering.
While we await the fulfillment of this promise, our correspondent Muhammad Sani Muazu visited Runde Bin to investigate the challenges arising from the scarcity of water.
In Runde Bin village, about 20 children, aged between 7 to 14, are tirelessly fetching water from the village’s sole well.
From dawn till dusk, this routine persists, with children fearlessly climbing the well to meet the community’s water needs.
Their dedication to this task has caused them huge set backs educationally and if not abated in the near future their dreams would be dashed.
Many of these children rarely attend classes, as water fetching consumes the majority of their time.
This was starkly evident when the teacher of the village’s only primary school was found resting under a tree, with no students in sight, by 9:45 am one Wednesday morning.
The village head, Malam Adamu Haruna, speaking exclusively to Albarka Radio, lamented the prolonged water scarcity plaguing their community.
He attributed this crisis to the rocky terrain underlying their village, exacerbating the challenges of accessing clean water.
Malam Adamu Haruna issued a heartfelt plea to the Bauchi State Government, urging swift intervention, especially as the dry season threatens to degenerate their water woes.
Responding to inquiries, the Bauchi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) assured the community of imminent relief.
Assistant General Manager of Community Mobilization, Ibrahim Babagana, disclosed RUWASSA’s commitment to drilling a new borehole towards alleviating the community’s suffering.
Babagana further revealed the state government’s ambitious plan to dig 20 new boreholes in each of the ten selected local governments, with Runde village earmarked as a beneficiary from Bauchi Local Government Area.
Ibrahim Babagana emphasized the broader scope of the project, including the repair of existing boreholes in various communities, as part of the state government’s dedication to ensuring access to safe drinking water for all residents.
