SAINT MICHAELS, Ariz. – Amid the towering ponderosa pines of the Fort Defiance Plateau, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren toured water, electricity, and bathroom addition projects funded to improve the lives of Diné families.
At the home of Gary Price, President Nygren saw firsthand the impact of a newly installed cistern and drain field constructed by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) and a bathroom addition built by the Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority (NECA) and the Navajo Division of Community Development (NDCD). The improvements transformed Price’s daily life.
“When we partner with enterprises like NECA and NTUA, they change people’s lives,” President Nygren said. “One house at a time. One family at a time. I’m here for people who don’t have a voice, people who struggle every single day.”
Inspired by his upbringing of growing up with no water or electricity access, President Nygren is changing that narrative for many of his people.
On Wednesday, Sept. 18, President Nygren visited six families in The Summit area of the St. Michaels Chapter and in Goat Springs, part of the Fort Defiance Chapter. These families received various upgrades, including electricity, cisterns, water lines, septic tanks, house wiring, and bathroom additions.
For Price, the addition of a bathroom meant the end of using an outhouse, along with its constant visitors—spiders.
“Having a pump for the cistern that activates the shower has made life easier,” Price shared. “These projects greatly benefit the Navajo Nation.”
According to NTUA, the bathroom addition cost around $60,000.
Casey Robinson, project manager for NTUA, reported 327 completed cistern and water line connection projects across the Navajo Nation, while Price’s bathroom was among 309 projects funded by NTUA, NDCD, Indian Health Service, and NECA.
###
