Kolahun District, Lofa County March 22, 2025 – As the Dry Season in Liberia goes mid-way this year, residents of Ndawelahun Town are raising their voices about the lack of access to safe drinking water in their area.
Lack of access to safe drinking water has persisted since the establishment of the town.
Located about an hour and a half from Kolba City along the Foya highway, Ndawelahun Town has a population of approximately 1,325 people, according to Liberia’s 2022 Census.
Speaking in an interview with Rural Reporter Network, Ndawelahun Town Chief, Alfred Kahalee highlighted the ongoing struggle for safe drinking water.
“Since the inception of this town, we have suffered greatly due to the absence of safe drinking water,” said Kahalee.
The chief explained that townspeople in the area depend only a creek water for drinking, despite the inherent health risks it puts to residents.
“The creek is not entirely safe for us, but we have no other available options. It’s the only source of drinking water we can depend on,” Kahablee said in an interview.
Residents expressed fear over the situation as the Rainy Season approaches . “My biggest worry is the Rainy Season; the water becomes even dirtier and is not clean at all,” one local resident said.
Another resident, a mother of three children, recounted her struggles saying, “We are really suffering. I often have to travel for over an hour to the nearest town just to fetch clean water because my children have been getting sick frequently, and I know it’s because of the creek water.”
The community is urgently calling for assistance to address the critical need for safe drinking water, as they fear that without intervention, the health crisis in their area may worsen.
Local authorities and humanitarian organizations are urged to intervene in the existing water issue in that part of Lofa County.
Edited: Esau J. Farr| Sub-Editor
