JUBA At least 5,000 residents in and around the South Sudanese capital now have access to clean drinking water after the opening of a U.S.-funded, solar-powered water distribution system in the area.<\/P>
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Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday at the plant, U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan Tom Hushek said the $70,000 project not only will supply residents with clean drinking water, but it should lessen the number of sexual attacks on women and girls who often walk several hours a day to find clean water.<\/P>
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Previously, residents in Juba’s Gudele West neighborhood and nearby Luri County had to pay 500 South Sudanese pounds for a 120-liter water container. Now, residents can fill up containers of drinking water for free in their neighborhood.<\/P>
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Agnes Stephen, a 22-year-old Luri County resident, is overjoyed.<\/P>
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“We used to face a lot of challenges accessing water. The water tankers would attempt to reach to our area, but because the roads are bad with a lot of bumps, they would not reach. And the water tankers that managed to reach us, they sell the water expensively,” Stephen told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus.<\/P>
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The system consists of an 80-meter-deep borehole and an elevated water tower with a tank that can hold up to 30,000 liters of water.<\/P>
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Using solar power, the water is pumped from the borehole to the tank. The water then flows by gravity into three distribution points.<\/P>
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Women and other residents ululated Tuesday as Hushek cut the ribbon, officially opening the new water plant to residents.<\/P>
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Hushek said a big secondary benefit to having easy access to clean drinking water is preventing the spread of disease.<\/P>
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“The project is improving community health and helping prevent diseases such as cholera. But the project does a lot more than that. I am especially proud that this project is sustainable because the community manages it. They have elected a water committee, and it includes 50 percent women,” Hushek said.<\/P>
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The International Organization for Migration constructed the new water distribution plant as part of a $34 million government-funded project providing humanitarian assistance across South Sudan.<\/P>
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According to U.N. agencies, more than 90 percent of the population in war-ravaged South Sudan lacks access to clean water.<\/P>
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Source: Voice of America<\/P>
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