Drought hits SIGI, RESIDENTS WALK FINDING CLEAN WATER

The damage to the Gumbasa irrigation in Sigi, Central Sulawesi caused water supply to several affected areas to be very difficult. The bad effect is that residents have to walk as far as possible to get clean water supplies from leaking pipes. It was recorded that 95 families experienced something like this.

This was precisely experienced by residents in Hamlet VI Lampio, Maranata Village, who had to walk about 1 kilometer. The bad things that happened to all the villagers have reportedly happened for 11 months, when an earthquake hit and the drought continues to this day.

In fact, many residents who earn from farming have started to lose their livelihoods, because clean water is not available. The distance of one kilometer may not sound that far, but if the context is an old woman traveling while carrying 5 liters of jerry cans, it is certainly heavy.

ACT intervenes to help Fajria and other residents

Fajria, a middle-aged woman who admitted that she had to go back and forth for 2 times to carry water did not receive any assistance from the government. Fajria and other residents admitted that they actually received assistance from humanitarian agencies in terms of distributing clean water to residents.

The difficulty of clean water in one of the hamlets in Sigi knocked the hearts of ACT activists or Aksi Cepat Tanggap to distribute clean water. As ACT's Public Relations Officer, Candra Chan revealed that his team had distributed clean water deliveries to several areas affected by the drought.

Chan said that leaking pipes alone was not enough to solve the drought problem in Sigi. According to Chan, there are 3 areas that have been provided with clean water, namely Karawana Village, Solouwe Village, and Maranata Village and are still being developed.

On August 13, Aksi Cepat Tanggap or ACT also provided clean water assistance to the converts' village, Padende Village, Marawola District. It was recorded that around 5000 liters of clean water were distributed by ACT to as many as 40 heads of families in the converts' hamlet.

Broken Roads Occurred Due to Floods in 4 Sigi Districts

If you look back, to be precise in May 2019, news of water in Sigi can also be found in the news of the isolation of roads due to flooding in four sub-districts. In fact, it is said that the route that connects to the capital city has only been repaired by the relevant parties not long ago, namely at the end of April 2019.

The four villages affected by the road cut off due to the flood are Kulawi, South Kulawi, Pipikoro, and Lindu. As a result of the road being cut off, residents who are still affected by the earthquake have finally found it difficult to receive aid for basic goods, where aid should have come from Palu.

At that time, while waiting for direct action from the government authorities, the residents, accompanied by the TNI and Polri, worked together to build alternative roads, at least by motorbikes. The efforts of residents who are assisted by the TNI and Polri do require patience and spaciousness.

Because even though roads have been built specifically for two-wheeled vehicles, such as motorbikes to go through the forest and residents' plantations, heavy rains have made the roads muddy. Inevitably, residents who use their vehicles to access transportation also have to ask for help from other residents, when their motorbikes get stuck because of the rain. Otherwise, the motor can get stuck in the mud.

At that time, the people affected by the road cut off due to the flood asked the government for help quickly, because the access used was access to the capital city. Plus the impact of the earthquake has not been fully repaired, of course this is very hampering the community.