Sarteneja Villagers Get Potable Water
In many remote areas and villages, potable water is still unavailable due to the lack of infrastructure or water systems. For years, residents of the village of Sarteneja in the Corozal District have been clamoring for potable water as well as for a functioning water board. Following elections earlier this year, the Government through a project financed by the Social Investment Fund installed a state of the art, reverse osmosis system to provide residents with clean drinking water. While residents spoke of the benefits of the new improved water system in the village, Minister of Rural Development, Godwin Hulse, said that the project is part of the millennium development goals to provide potable water for remote communities.
Resident, Sarteneja
“It’s a big improvement for the community because it is the time that the village expansion, the system is needed; especially something like this. The water is very necessary for the entire community and I think it is a wonderful project.”
Resident
Resident, Sarteneja
“Water is essential to the entire village because there are small children going to school and without water, we have to go all the way to the seaside or buy water…and some people do not have money to buy because they are poor. But having water in our village is big, it is a boom cause everybody is going to have water in their homes for daily living.”
Resident, Sarteneja
“Today is a significant day for all the Sartenejanos here in the village because this is a great project that will bring better life development to our people…for example purified water as you heard the Minister saying it, it is a hundred percent purified. And I look at this as steps towards the future because this project could motivate our government to bring more projects into our village and more or less put more interest in our young people for them to get more involved in this and to develop a better future for this village.”
Godwin Hulse
Godwin Hulse, Minister of Rural Development
“We had some difficulty with this village over the years with good portable water. SIF intervened and we’ve put in a brand new reverse osmosis system from FT Williams Company; it is state of the art, the water is sweet and clean as you saw. And so the residents of this community should be well satisfied now.”
