PHOTO: One of the kiosks dedicated
Press Release
Cities Alliance Liberia Country Program dedicates 20 multipurpose water kiosks in Greater Monrovia, under the Comic Relief supported Community Upgrading funds (CUF) Project.
The symbolic dedication took place in Blamo town on Bushrod Island and Weh Town in Paynesville respectively.
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Famata Roesler performing the dedication in Blamo town on August 7, 2020 encouraged residents to be proud of their dwelling saying, “I am very proud that I came from a slum community and I want to let you know that there are good people within the slums. Therefore, you must be proud of where you live.”
Minister Roesler admonished the people of Blamo town to maintain the water facilities and continue to cooperate with development partners in meeting development goals.
She called on Cities Alliance to expand its mission beyond Greater Monrovia.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Analyst of Cities Alliance Andrew Senjovu reassured partners and local government authorities of his organizations commitment towards development efforts in Liberia especially among the urban poor.
“Cities Alliance recognizes that there are a lot of challenges such as lack of roads, housing and safe drinking water. However, we realized the importance to partner with key stakeholders to plan and implement together so that the development efforts for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) are sustainable.”-He said.
The Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, (LWSC) Operations Engineer Mohammed Kroma said the water facility was a modern design that would assist community members to trade items that were essential.
“with vast experience I can say that the structures are solid and will last a long term however you the residents must be transparent in the management so that when the partners are gone you will be prepared to handle its maintenance.”
The 20 water kiosks are those completed out of 50 being constructed under the CUF project and an additional five funded by Water Aid Liberia. With the construction of the water kiosks several slum and urban poor communities will now have increased access to safe and clean drinking water.
The water kiosks in Weh town Paynesville will serve more than four thousand residents while the water kiosks in Blamo town will serve more than ten thousand residents.
The water kiosks are designed to host a space for small scale trade that provides the community with basic commodities. It includes a solar lighting system and storage tank.
The Cities Alliance Community Upgrading Fund (CUF) is a community-driven development initiative that provides financing for small infrastructure projects selected by the communities themselves. The projects enable the urban poor to make a measurable impact on their communities by improving their basic social and physical infrastructure.
The CUF plans to reach 113 profiled settlement/slum communities benefiting 400,000 people in Greater Monrovia, Liberia.