Left: A picture of innocence: This little girl is all smiles as she poses for our photographer, seemingly oblivious to the water woes that have been around long before she was born. Behind her are several metal drums used by the residents to store water. Right: This woman shows The Gleaner how she has to manually pour water into her washing machine for it to work. - PHOTOS BY RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WHAT'S NOT WORKING?
THE residents of Orangefield district in north west St. Catherine have no piped water.
They bemoan bitterly that the community has been plagued by a chronic water shortage for more than two decades.
However, the well seemingly ran dry some eight years ago, and they have not smelled the scent of water from their taps since.
The roads in the underdeveloped district are also in dire need of repair and the community also needs more streetlights.
But, the residents indicated that they would live with the partial darkness and bad roads just to get water flowing through their taps again.
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE?
The National Water Commission (NWC) accepted responsibility for a part of the district. However, Charles Buchanan, corporate public relations manager at the NWC, said that a section of the area has never been under the purview of the NWC.
WHAT'S THE STATUS?
Mr. Buchanan was not immediately able to provide information on the subject matter. But he promised to look into the situation.
SYNOPSIS OF THE SITUATION
In most communities, drums are placed at the gate for the garbage collectors. But in Orangefield district, the metal drums line the gateways in anticipation of water - be it from the Almighty's rain from the skies or the trucks that visit the area.
In the humble district, which is tucked away in the hills of St. Catherine, clothes are frequently washed in rainwater. The residents who have a washing machine have to manually pour water into it.
According to residents, two basic schools in the area - Mount Zion and Redemption - are sometimes forced to close their doors or open just for a half day because of the terrible water situation.
Aston Wright, 70, likened the issuing or sale of water from the trucks to scarce benefits.
"Anywhere it finish, they turn back and don't come back," the senior citizen lamented.
The elderly man also highlighted that sometimes eight days elapse before the trucks with the life sustaining substance return to the district.
He disclosed that it has been eight years since he has seen water flowing through his tap, but water bills are still being sent to the postal agency. He added that the people refuse to collect them much less pay for what they are not receiving.
The agony of living without running water intensifies when the residents look across to neighbouring communities that have the privilege of piped water.
A young man from the community told The Gleaner that there are days when he has to choose between eating and taking a bath.
"The other day mi have one last $50 to buy bread and cheese and mi did have to use it to buy a bucket of water," he said.
Some residents in the community have no pipes at all because they are not connected to the system that should be supplying the area.
One such resident told The Gleaner that the dearth in the supply of water has driven her family to driving their unlicensed and uninsured vehicle to neighbouring communities in search of the precious commodity.
The woman said she fears being caught by the police, but thinks she has no alternative. "If we nuh have no water, we caan siddung and dead," she bemoaned.
CONCLUSION
Another community, yet the same cry. It is like a recurring decimal. Is anybody listening to the lamentations of our people?
Again, the scholastic future of some of the nation's children is being blighted because there is no water in the taps to bathe or prepare meals to send them to school.
This is grossly unacceptable! We cannot continue to allow the authorities responsible for providing water to hold the future of our children at ransom.
Water woes are becoming a far too familiar cry for Jamaicans and it must be tackled expeditiously. Some serious attention must be given to the structured provision of potable water, especially to residents in rural Jamaica. The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) should spearhead this process.
Too many people, who are claiming that they should be receiving water, are complaining bitterly that they have not received any over an extended period.
Reports reaching The Gleaner from reliable sources have indicated that the residents have been left to fend for themselves because they are swinging on the opposite side of the political pendulum.
Some of the residents did not even remember the name of their Member of Parliament (MP). However, it was later revealed the MP for the area is Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Housing, Transport, and Works (with responsibility for water).
How ironic is it that Mr. Pickersgill has been given the Water portfolio and his constituents are suffering from a lack of water for years now?
The people are not asking for much. They just need piped water. Help please!
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Tell us about problems in your community. We will visit and help to lobby for action. Write to: Tyrone Reid, the Gleaner Company Ltd., 7 North Street, P.O. Box 40, Kingston; Fax: 922-6223, Telephone: 922-3400 Ext. 6364 or Email: tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com.
