Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter out of deep frustration with regard to the water situation in our community, namely, the Hosororo Stretch and the surrounding area of Kumaka. Over the past eighteen or twenty months the residents have been without a piped water supply.
Numerous complaints have been made to the relevant authorities here, and also to the Minister who last paid us a visit here in Mabaruma, but to no avail. Their response was always the same. As a resident and a mother of six children I’m appealing to the administration to look into the matter urgently.
At present we have to accumulate water when the rain falls, and when it stops we are left with no option than to purchase water at a cost of five hundred to one thousand dollars. To access the water, you have to get your own transportation and traverse a very deplorable stretch of road which of course does a lot of damage to your vehicle. Most of the households have school-age children who have to use water for washing, bathing, etc. Most families don’t own a vehicle, which is very hard for them, and if they cannot purchase water, their only option is to use the nearby trench, and that is very dangerous to their health.
My question is why are most places being supplied with water on a daily basis but the residents of Kumaka and the surrounding areas receive none at all? Why are we the only ones suffering, and how much longer do we have to put up with this? No effort whatsoever is being made to have the problem resolved. Please, water is life and we are not getting any, so whomsoever it concerns, would they please look into the matter urgently.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
Editor’s note
We are sending a copy of this letter to Guyana Water Inc for any comment they might wish to make.
