Clean Water for Rural Villagers in Burkina Faso

Dear BARKA Family,

It is the hottest time of year here in Burkina Faso.  Temperatures during the day are consistently over 110F, and the heat is compounded by frequent power outages and water shortages here in the town of Fada N'Gourma where BARKA's office is located.  Last week we went for 5 days without water!  Luckily, BARKA has a 1000-liter water tank at its office and we were able to use that for all our water needs.  Just as it ran out, the water returned!  It really brought home the daily reality faced by millions of rural villagers throughout Burkina Faso who have no running water and must often walk miles to the nearest water source and carry all of their water back to their homes-- every single day.

Since the beginning of 2016, BARKA has spent time monitoring and evaluating the work we accomplished, with your support, last year.  It was incredibly gratifying to hear villagers describe what a positive change clean drinking water has made in their lives. There was much discussion about the decreased incidence of sicknesses, particularly diarrhea and stomach aches.  The women also said their lives had changed dramatically because as you know, they're the ones who have to fetch the water for the family, often carrying containers of 5 gallons (40 pounds) on top of their heads.  One man got up and said if we had held this meeting before the well was drilled, no women would be present because they would all be asleep after searching for water all night.  Now their tireless search was over and they had more time in the day to be with their family, take care of their children, and engage in more productive activities. 

It's hard to describe the gratitude all the villagers expressed to BARKA, and the BARKA family of donors--people like you who have donated to help their situation even though you may have never traveled to Burkina Faso or met the beneficiaries of the project. We want to convey their immense gratitude to you, and tell you that they asked us to send you their blessings.

We certainly feel blessed ourselves to be able to do this work, and to have such a committed and passionate group of supporters and donors here at GlobalGiving.  Your financial support is what helps to make this work possible. Our work here is far from finished.  We are now developing new projects with the same 9 villages we have been working with, taking things to a deeper level and even venturing into new domains such as education and sustainable agriculture. 

Please consider a donation today to help bring these new dreams to fruition.  Barka!