From Drought to Hope

Water is the essential element for life, has become a scarce and precious commodity in the city of Aden over the past eight years. During the ongoing conflict in Yemen, several factors have contributed to this crisis: the lack of regular maintenance of the city's water project, the influx of displaced people, a growing population, and the prevalence of informal housing. This has led to a significant drop in water levels in the city, leaving a large portion of the residents without access to water and causing it to be completely absent in many Aden neighborhoods. Consequently, residents have been forced to rely on purchasing water from water tanks transported on trucks, known as "water wagons." The price of a 5,000-liter water tank has reached around 12,000 Yemeni rials, which is approximately equivalent to 10 US dollars.

water consumption varies among households depending on their usage rate, which is determined by the size and number of family members. This method, however, is only available to affluent and well-off residents, especially considering that reports indicate that more than two-thirds of Yemenis living in extreme poverty cannot afford the exorbitant cost of purchasing water. This undoubtedly has a negative impact on every aspect of their lives

Najat Mohammad Salem is one of the citizens who living in the Crater District in the Al-Eidaroos neighborhood. Najat and her children are struggling to survive with the increasing water scarcity that threatens their entire residential neighborhood. The situation has caused great losses on Najat and her family every day. They must make the difficult decision to ration using water they have and sacrifice their needs in order to survive. She has no alternative to buy water from the local market, which is expensive and often unreliable, and her financial circumstances do not allow her to buy water continuously , so she is forced to give up some of her other needs in order to provide water.

Najat says more than five years, has not a drop of water  entered her house from the city’s general project water, and all of her reliance on purchasing water from the local market.

.This is the situation of Najat and many of the residents of Aden Governorate who pray to God every day to change their situation for the better

Altwasul for Human Development implemented the drilling of ten replacement artesian wells with a 610-kilowatt solar power station and an electrical cable network to ensure the continuity of water flow in the Nasser well field, that feeds the water of Aden Governorate. This project supplies the city of Aden daily with 17,280,000 liters and covers 30% of the project’s water needs. It was funded by the Kuwait Relief Society and in coordination with the local authority and the local administration of water and sanitation.

Najat says, "We do not hear the sound of water trucks as much in our neighborhood because water has reached most of the residents in the area." In truth, we had lost hope for an improvement in the water situation, as the country's conditions are deteriorating every day. Thank God, today we have become free to focus on our other work instead of being preoccupied with searching for water. Al-Eidaroos neighborhood is one of the many neighborhoods in Aden city that is now receiving water after a five-year interruption."