RIPPLES OF CHANGE:

MERRY-GOLD WATER CHARITY UK. CHARITY REG No 1203569

TACKLING NIGERIA’S WATER CRISIS WITH PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS.

The global water crisis is a pressing issue that affects millions of people worldwide, with Africa, particularly Nigeria, facing severe challenges. The peculiarity of Nigeria’s acute water supply situation is exacerbated by population growth, climate change, and inadequate water infrastructure. The scarcity of clean and accessible water sources poses significant health, economic, and social challenges, particularly for vulnerable populations such as rural communities who continue to depend on natural sources such as rivers, lakes, streams, ponds and unsafe wells.

According to the United Nations, more than two billion people globally lack access to safely managed drinking water services, and more than four billion people face severe water scarcity at least one month per year. This means that a significant portion of the world’s population is grappling with gross inadequacy in water supply, leading to dire consequences.

In Nigeria, the water crisis is deeply entrenched, with approximately 60 million people (out of an estimated 200 million people) – representing about 30% of the population – lacking access to clean water sources. This staggering statistic highlights the magnitude of the problem, particularly in a country with one of the largest populations in Africa. The lack of access to safe water contributes to the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, and diarrhea, leading to preventable deaths and increased healthcare costs.

Poor access to improved water and sanitation in Nigeria remains a major contributing factor to high morbidity and mortality rates among children under five. The use of contaminated drinking water and poor sanitary conditions result in increased vulnerability to water-borne diseases, including diarrhoea which leads to deaths of more than 70,000 children under five annually. UNICEF in Nigeria posits that;

“seventy-three per cent of the diarrhea and enteric disease burden is associated with poor access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and is disproportionately borne by poorer children. Frequent episodes of WASH related ill-health in children, contribute to absenteeism in school, and malnutrition”. This is compounded by the fact that only 26.5 per cent of the population use improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities, with 22 per cent of the population engaging in open defecation. This is an unsustainable state of affairs!

Rural communities in Lagos State, Nigeria’s economic hub, are disproportionately affected by the water crisis. Despite being close to urban centers, many rural areas lack reliable access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities. This has severe implications for public health and economic development. Women and children often bear the brunt of water scarcity, as they are responsible for fetching water over long distances, limiting educational and economic opportunities.

The impact of the water crisis on rural communities in Lagos State includes:

• Health Risks: Waterborne diseases thrive in communities with limited access to clean water and sanitation, leading to higher rates of illness and mortality, particularly among children under five.

• Education Disruption: Children, especially girls, may miss school to collect water, affecting their educational attainment and perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

• Economic Burden: Limited access to water hinders agricultural productivity and economic activities, further exacerbating poverty and food insecurity.

• Social Inequality: Water scarcity deepens existing social inequalities, with marginalized populations facing greater challenges in accessing basic services and resources.

Lagos’s worsening clean water supply crisis has been due to a combination of factors, including dilapidated water infrastructure, corruption, inconsistent policies, low financial allocation and low government attention to the sector, bad management, etc.

Addressing the water crisis requires concerted efforts from governments, non-governmental organizations, and international partners to improve water infrastructure, promote sustainable water management practices, and ensure equitable access to clean water and sanitation services. Investments in water infrastructure and innovative solutions are crucial to alleviating the burden of water scarcity on vulnerable communities, promoting health, economic development, and social equity. Sadly, the fanfare with which different water intervention initiatives have been launched in Nigeria by governments at all levels has not been matched with tangible outcomes for the longsuffering populace.

It was in reaction to these starkly worrisome realities, especially in the rural communities in Lagos State, that Prince Akeem Adenuga, after several trips to Nigeria from his UK base, was driven to set up Merry-Gold Water Charity UK. Merry-Gold Water Charity, a non-profit charity organisation duly registered in Nigeria and with the United Kingdom’s Charity Commission, was officially launched on Saturday 30th January 2021 with the mission to relieve poverty and suffering of vulnerable rural communities in Lagos State Nigeria through the improvement of water supplies, by the provision of boreholes to provide clean and safe drinking water. Its core mandate is to help ameliorate the perennial water inequity in Lagos State, and Nigeria at large. In the course of the aforementioned visits to Nigeria, Prince Adenuga saw, first hand, the spectre of water scarcity that assailed thousands of locals daily on such an unprecedented scale that jolted his conscience into action. He set out with one mission on his mind – to help narrow the yawning gap through the provision of safe water to households in some of the hardest hit villages and communities in Lagos.

For operational efficiency, Merry-Gold Water Charity has two boards of Trustees- in Lagos and in the UK. Its founder/principal trustee is Prince Akeem Adenuga. Akeem holds a Bachelor’s in English Language, and an MA in International Relations from the London Metropolitan University. He has been working on the clean water network in central London for over two decades. He has supervised several water projects and has vast experience in water leakage solutions and clean water networks. During the London 2012 Olympics, Akeem was part of the experienced Water Operatives (Team Thames), representing Thames Water at Olympic venues in ensuring provision of clean, reliable tap water and sanitation during the games. He is totally driven by his passion for global water equity.

The pilot project embarked upon by Merry-Gold Water Charity

was set for Odo-Ayandelu/Agbowa-Ikosi/Epe/Ikorodu local government areas, among others, with the singular purpose of providing modern water borehole systems for them with adequate reservoirs. The first beneficiary community was the Odo-Ayandelu rural community in Lagos State. The water project which was executed right on schedule in 2023, and currently serving the clean water needs of over 5,000 people, was made possible by the goodwill of individual donations, grants, corporate sponsorships, and in-kind donations. In line with best practices for projects of that scale, the key components of the Odo-Ayandelu water project include – borehole, treatment plant, aeration tank, solar panels, power generators, etc. The appreciative community, led by its king and other community leaders, have continued to express great delight in having a decades-old plight lifted off their shoulders.

In July 2024, and in line with its deliberate mission of providing clean water, improving sanitation, and inculcating proper hygiene behaviors among the populations that it serves, Merry-Gold Water Charity is planning to commence another water project in Owu-Ikosi community that will solve the immediate water needs of over 3000 inhabitants. This project, hinged on a budget of £10,000 (Ten thousand Pounds), will be similar in scope, general components, and impact to the Odo-Ayandelu community water scheme, in addition to multiple layers of fencing, landscaping, fetching points, generator houses, security houses, labour needs, project management and government/local authority permits. At the moment, the people of Owu-Ikosi community and their livestock depend on inadequate cloudy and unsafe water mainly from nearby streams and wells.

Beyond solving the immediate water needs of underserved communities, Merry-Gold Water Charity intends to, in the medium to long term, orchestrate the type of attitudinal change that will result in better health outcomes. This charity has painstakingly assembled stakeholders and resource persons from different walks of life – from the most basic civil works, to security oversight –  to oversee the project. Ultimately, and with concerted alliances with individuals and organisations of similar disposition, it will expand the scope of its interventions beyond the coastal shores of Lagos, as it continues in its commitment to assist in solving Nigeria’s acute water problem.

Merry-Gold Water Charity is eternally indebted to all the individuals and corporate organisations that have keyed into its vision and mission with extraordinary enthusiasm, and who have supported with very kind donations. The charity extends deep appreciation to the entire staff of Hydrosave Ltd UK, Thames Water Services UK, Finlay Jude Employment Agency UK, members of the National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) from across different continents, and all those who have supported, and continue to support these water projects through their gracious donations.

If you would like to support the charity and get involved with future projects, please visit our website (https://www.merry-goldwater.org/) to donate. Alternatively, you can donate through our JustGiving page on the link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/olugbenga-adenuga?utm_term=5qY3x2mBb

Thanks, and God bless you all!!

Prince Akeem Adenuga