“We Drink to Survive, But the Water Is Making Us Sick”: Forgotten Families in Gee Robert Town Cry for Help as Safe Water Runs Dry

In the heart of Wee District, far from the noise of government offices and development promises, hundreds of families in Gee Robert Town wake up each day to the same painful question: where will the next clean cup of water come from? For many here, the answer is heartbreaking rainwater trapped in open pits, muddy holes, and unsafe containers that are now becoming a source of sickness instead of life.

For decades, residents of this historic community founded in the late 1960s by late Representative Gee Robert have lived without access to safe drinking water. What should be a basic human necessity has become a daily struggle, forcing mothers, children, and the elderly into a desperate fight for survival.

Under the scorching sun, women can be seen carrying empty buckets for miles, searching from village to village for water that may not even be safe to drink. Children who should be in classrooms often join the search, sacrificing their education for something most communities take for granted.

When the rains come, families rush to collect water in open holes and makeshift reservoirs. But when the dry season arrives, those same holes dry up—leaving behind cracked earth, empty buckets, and growing fear.

Community member Junior Jackson says the crisis has reached a breaking point.

“Sometimes the water finishes completely, and we walk for hours looking for another source. What hurts the most is seeing children drink dirty water and later fall sick.”

Parents say cases of stomach pain, diarrhea, fever, and other waterborne illnesses are becoming common, especially among children whose bodies are too weak to fight contaminated water.

Mothers in the community say they are exhausted forced to choose between using the little water they find for drinking, cooking, or washing. For many households, one bucket must serve an entire family for the day.

Residents believe they have waited long enough. They say their cries have gone unheard for years, while their health continues to deteriorate and their children continue to suffer.

Now, the people of Gee Robert Town are making one final emotional appeal to the Government of Liberia, humanitarian organizations, and well-meaning citizens: bring us hand pumps, dig safe wells, and give our children a chance to drink water that gives life not sickness.