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Catholic Entity in South Sudan Facilitating Provision of “safe and clean drinking water”

Launching of water project in Mambe Parish. Credit: CDTY

The Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CODEP), the social wing of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio (CDTY), is facilitating the provision of “safe and clean drinking water” to local communities, the Director of the Catholic entity has said.

In an interview with ACI Africa Tuesday, March 7, Fr. Charles Mbikoyo said that the initiative that is aimed at giving hope for community members in sections of South Sudan’s Western Equatoria State is coordinated from CODEP office in the Deanery of Tombura.

The member of the Clergy of CDTY said, “We managed to get funds to drill seven boreholes before the rainy season begins in order to help communities lacking drinking water.”

The seven boreholes “are a hope for the local communities living in these areas because it’s not easy to get water.” Fr. Mbikoyo said about the water initiative that was first launched in the Eastern Deanery of Maridi, Mambe, Nzara, Yambio, Gangura and Ezo.

The South Sudanese Catholic Priest added, “Communities living in these areas are really suffering from lack of safe and clean drinking water that was why we prioritized them because it’s not easy to get water.”

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He acknowledged with appreciation the local community “voluntarily contributing funds towards the implementation of the project”, adding that plans are underway to establish a committee that “will be in charge of each water point in these locations to take care of the boreholes and sustainability.”

“Many people are demanding water and we have limited funds to help them have access to clean water,” he went on to say in reference to the limitations in the attempt to resolve the challenge of water in the Catholic Diocese. 

He explained, “Getting local materials like gravel is one of the challenges which we have to carry from Yambio to the other areas.”

“The Road network is very difficult because it’s hard for us to move the team where the activity is taking place,” Fr. Mbikoyo said in an effort to highlight challenges in the process of implementing the water initiative in CDTY that is supported by Washington-based Sudan Relief Fund (SRF).

He went on to thank members of SRF for their partnership. He said, “We are grateful to the Sudan Relief Fund for having intervened at this moment that our community needs water.”

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“We continue to ask them to support us to help our people because this should not be the last water project for the population,” the South Sudanese Catholic Priest told ACI Africa.

He continued, “We will continue to knock on the doors of our partners, especially those who are interested in funding water projects.”

“We are ready to collaborate and work together in order to realize more water points for the internally displaced persons, returnees and the host community,” Fr. Mbikoyo said during the March 7 interview.

Patrick Juma Wani is a South Sudanese journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. Patrick holds a Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from Makerere Institute for Social Development (MISD) in Uganda. He has over 7 years of extensive experience in leading the development and implementation of media, advocacy, communication and multimedia strategy and operations, with an excellent track record of editorial leadership, budget management, and stakeholder outreach. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.