“This water project will benefit thousands of citizens in our area and the children will be less affected by water-borne diseases,” a grateful Gaak Manyang, executive director of Meen County in Western Lakes, said.

The water solar pipe system is one of many Quick Impact Projects – low-cost, big-impact interventions – delivered by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan to local communities across the country.

Nepalese peacekeepers based at the Rumbek Field Office, while on a five-day patrol in the counties of Meen and Malek, used their time in the area to further improve the water system by repairing a tap handle and adding another two taps to the facilities.

The Nepalese initiative, complementing the previously done plastering and installation of water taps, is expected to make sure that access to clean water is sustained in the long term.

The project implementation as a whole, said Kwame Dwamena Aboagye, head of the Rumbek Field Office, is an excellent example of military and civilian peacekeepers working together to assist the people of the war-torn country of South Sudan.

Manyang promised to do his part to increase the longevity of the water system by teaching members of nearby communities how to use and maintain it properly.

The UNMISS team’s patrol through the Meen and Malek counties also served to increase the visibility of peacekeepers in the area, build confidence and trust among the communities and to monitor the security situation. Of particular interest to those participating in the patrol was the outcome of the recent return to Malek County of a group of people who, due to inter-communal conflicts, were displaced several months ago.