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 and Angiama in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
The projects were in collaboration with the Sustainable Partnership Initiative for Development (SPID) as 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 projects were the fourth intervention for public secondary schools in the state after 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 secondary schools in the state, other than the boarding Model Secondary Schools,” Atuwo said.
The Acting Chairman of the BEDTF board, Prof. Francis Sikoki, urged the Toru Ndoro and Angiama communities to safeguard and utilize the water projects.
Dr Weli Igiridi, Project Coordinator for SPID, said the collaboration’s focus on community impact was fundamental, emphasizing that the water projects would help prevent outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases in the schools.
Dr Charles Daniel, Chairman of the State House of Assembly Committee on Education, who performed the inauguration at Toru Ndoro, 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, pledging 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 the outbreak of Cholera when she assumed duties in the school.
Porri called on government to urgently address the deteriorating state of the school building, which they warned could collapse if left unattended.
Dr Alice Atuwo, Executive Secretary of BYEDTF noted that the project at Angiama was significant because it was the hometown of Chief Frank Opigo, a pioneer educationists in the Niger Delta.
“We at BYEDTF are happy that we are making impact through such strategic interventions. If we all know the effect of cholera and diarrhoea outbreak in our communities, we will appreciate the importance of this water project,” Atuwo said.
Mr Simon-Peter Okene, Permanent Secretary, Bayelsa Ministry of Education performed the inauguration at Angiama on behalf of the Commissioner for Education.
Chief Donewell Jones, a traditional ruler of Angiama thanked the donors for the project which he said was already serving the secondary school, the nearby primary school and the community.
Mr Bonafie Jones, Principal of the school applauded the BYEDTF for the gesture and recalled that the fund had earlier provided science and laboratory equipments to the school.
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