Heifer International Cameroon, an integrated animal-agriculture development organisation, has received a Japanese Embassy grant to construct 15 boreholes in three divisions of the Far North Region, namely Mayo Tsanaga, Mayo Kani and Mayo Danay.
An agreement for the counterpart funding of the project worth FCFA 49 million was on Wednesday, November 16 in Yaounde, signed between Heifer International Cameroon Country Director, Dr Njakoi Henry, and the new Japanese Ambassador to Cameroon, Tsutomu Arai. The total cost of the project is more than FCFA 70 million, with Heifer, local communities and councils providing the rest of the money.
“Having watched the documentary on the water situation in the region, I was convinced that it was a project worth funding,” said Ambassador Arai at the event. He said the grant was in support of government’s efforts to curb the spread of cholera and other water-borne diseases through the provision of good drinking water. The project, he also pointed out, would help reduce distances hitherto covered by local people in search of water that is of poor quality. Good water is so important that its absence leaves both human beings and animals vulnerable, he insisted.
According to Dr Njakoi, his organisation’s work in the region can only be successful if the livestock they offer and the families that receive them have access to good water. He disclosed that the 15 boreholes will benefit about 20,000 people in 14 villages. Statistics show that the Far North Region has a poverty rate of 66 per cent, with about 94 per cent of the people living below the poverty line. Not surprisingly, the region was hit hard by last year’s cholera outbreak in the country.
