In continuation of the Kwara Training, Repair, Empowerment and Community-ownership (KWATRECO) in the Kwara North Senatorial District, several communities in Edu, Baruten and Kaiama local government areas had benefited from the empowering training on public infrastructure maintenance and projects.
In Edu, participants, upon the completion of the training session held at the local government secretariat, proceeded to various parts of the community and fixed nonfunctional boreholes in areas like Alhaji Bindi and Shamba Gini Compounds.
Mallam Sheu Abdulroheem, who witnessed the exercise, described the intervention as timely, saying that the borehole had been left unattended to for over a decade after several attempts made by the community to fix it.
While commending the Kwara State Government’s efforts towards reaching people at the grassroots with developmental projects, a borehole technician and resident of Kosubosu in Baruten LGA, Mallam Salihu said the project was aimed at promoting indigenous technology and knowledge through empowering training on public infrastructure maintenance and management.
According to him, “sometimes in 2004, or thereabouts, there was a training like this in Kwara but they were all trained in Ilorin without any practical like this. Also, the language used then was issue and detailed attention was not given to each LGA like this KWATRECO method. I am confident that this will go a long way.”
One of the beneficiaries, Umar Akibu said he was excited as the training was held in their community with a trainer who spoke their language (Batonu). In his words, “we have been part of many initiatives. But they will always take us to Ilorin and be blowing English grammar. It is this KWATRECO that comes to us and gives us someone who speaks our language (Batonou) to train us. We feel so important with this methodology.“
The KWATRECO 1.0 training was rounded up on Thursday following the completion of training and successful repair of some boreholes in some parts of Kaiama including Samagizin and Koukou Tenebo bypass. It would be recalled that the training had been held across the sixteen local government areas of the state with several communities benefiting from the projects.