Commanding Officer of the 6th Construction Engineering Battalion of the Brazilian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Vandir Pereira Soares Junior and Director General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig yesterday wrapped up a three-day visit to the identified locations to finalise the preparations for drilling of eight water wells in the Rupununi in October this year.
During the drilling phase, the Brazilian Army will be working closely with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and this collaboration will see the drilling of artesian wells in the villages of Aishalton, Chukrikednau, Shea, Maruranawa, Awarawaunau, Karaudarnau, Achiwib and Bashraidrun. A release from the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday said that the reconnaissance mission began on March 19 and will run until March 29, 2018. Already, on the ground testing has been completed for more than half of the communities identified.
During the three-day visit to the communities, Vandir and his team along with the team from the CDC were able to visit the proposed locations and to meet with some of the village leaders and residents.
In an invited comment, Colonel Craig said “The well driving operation is a comprehensive disaster risk management approach to reduce the identified communities risk to the impact of drought. These wells, which are being drilled to approximately 100 meters and the best identified locations would seek ensure that the communities have potable water during prolonged dry seasons and drought conditions. Further, the operation would seek to build the country’s well drilling capacity and ensure valuable knowledge is transfer to the national and local players, which is key for sustainability and drilling of other wells not only in Region Nine but in other vulnerable communities in Regions 1, 2, 7 and 8,” he said.
In an effort to stay within the 60-day project duration, the Brazilians will be bringing three drilling machines and two teams from both Armed Forces will be dispatched to work in conjunction with them.
Raymond Almando, Toshao of Bashraidrun, a border community with a population of 142, in an invited comment said that the wells will bring significant relief to the residents of the communities identified. Given its remote location, Almando said that he is pleased that the community has been included in the project.
“I say when this opens, everyone will be happy because we will get water. We will get water for our gardens and our children. We punish when there is no water. I am happy that this Government is working for this community. We are not lost. We are getting this. Everyone is happy to get water because it will be centrally located, especially for the health post and the school,” he said, according to the Ministry of the Presidency.
Toshao of Achiwib, Leonard Johnson, echoed those sentiments, noting that with the dry season beginning to approach, it is a welcome initiative.
“Well we are very happy that we will be getting this well. With the well being centralised, people can come on their carts and get water to take back to their homes because this dry season is very hard for us so we want to say thank you to the Government and we will lend our support where necessary,” he said.
This project follows President David Granger’s State visit to Brazil in December 2017, where the Complementary Agreement to the Basic Agreement on Technical Cooperation between the Government of Guyana and Brazil for the Implementation of the Project Technologies to Reduce the Effects of the Drought in Region Nine of Guyana, was signed.
