SIXTY-five residents of Barabina, a community in the Region One (Barima-Waini) Mabaruma Sub-District, now have access to potable water to their homes for the first time. 

The offer of this essential service to the community comes just one month after the new Minister of Housing and Water, Mr. Collin Croal would have met with residents, and having learnt about the water situation there, promised to remedy it “within a short period of time”.

As a result of the minister’s intervention, and based on the advice of Guyana Water Inc. (GWI)’s engineers, it was found that the existing Barabina Pump Station and distribution network could have facilitated extension to serve the households in need. Work on the extension commenced almost immediately, and as of Monday, September 14, 2020, residents were accessing water at their homes.

Work on the extension was done by GWI staff, with the aid the Barabina Village Council and the Regional Democratic Council.
The intervention will greatly assist residents, who, in the past were forced to walk miles on end just to get a little “drinking water”, particularly during the long dry season, since their main source of accessing the commodity was either by harvesting rainwater, or fetching it from fresh-water streams miles away from where they live.

Over the past few weeks, GWI staff have been assessing the needs of residents within the Mabaruma, Moruca, and Port Kaituma Sub-districts, and finding solutions to their water woes. Minister Croal has committed to continue making interventions to ensure better service delivery of potable water to all hinterland regions.
In the coming weeks, the Minister is expected to visit other hinterland regions across the country.