Help Villagers in Benin Access Safe, Clean Water

Later this month, while we in North America enjoy the start of festive holiday celebrations, millions of rural villagers in Sub-Saharan Africa are bracing for a long, dry season of drought and hardship. They would give anything for a clean water source.

SELF recently conducted a survey of all of the known man-made public water sources in the district of Kalalé in Benin to determine which village has the greatest need for a new potable water site. We want to make sure we prioritize these needs and distribute water as fairly as possible. What we found surprised even our seasoned field staff. The water crisis in Kalalé is more desperate than we initially thought. Unlike the U.S. where every household has its own water, there are only 109 access points to clean water for a population of 183,085 in Kalalé. That means an average of 1,680 people in northern Benin share the same spigot that would only serve one family in the U.S. And this is only the average! In the worst case scenario, 9,208 people are competing for one source of clean drinking water.

Using solar-powered pumps to draw water from deep aquifers, SELF can reduce these shocking numbers if it can identify the funding needed for installations. Thanks to all who have helped us get almost half way to our goal of providing a new well in Kalalé through Global Giving. SELF’s Project Director, Jeff Lahl, has just returned from Benin and says the local people are thrilled at the prospect of getting a new water station. What better gift could we give this holiday season, than being able to quench the thirst of thousands of people in Benin

Links:

• Check out our instagram photos of Benin
• Read about our Solar Market Gardens, also in Kalale
• Watch a short animated video about our work in Benin

When the Solar Electric Light Fund introduced its campaign to bring clean water to people in the Kalalé District of Benin, we emphasized the threat of water-borne diseases that thrive in the dirty water many are forced to drink.  But for the women and girls who are charged with collecting the water, there are more dangers. Mama Sambo Amidou from SELF’s partner organization, ADESCA, describes the situation he observed:

“The women of the village travelled at least 5 kilometers on foot to bring back only 30 liters of water. They would wake up at 4 AM because the water would dry up by sunrise. It was a dangerous journey for these women to bring back this water. And of what kind? The kind shared with animals, who like the women would wake up early to drink from the same source.”

Look closely at the photo of the young girl collecting water, and you will see a crocodile on the bank near her.  What a price to pay to have access to water—and not even clean water at that!  It is hard for us in the industrialized world to imagine such a situation when all we need to do is turn on a spigot to fill a glass with clean water. 

In the coming months, things will get even worse in Benin.  In December, the dry season begins, and so does the drought.  It’s not the kind of drought in California where people have to sacrifice watering their lawns.  In Benin, it’s the kind of heat and dryness that has been best described by Sandra Phillips, SELF’s former Project Manager in Benin:

 “There, the heat rose, the dirt paths turned to sand, and the bush dried into crisp tinder. My heels cracked and bled, and I learned that thirst is something you can feel with your whole body.  Water became a constant source of stress and my most precious resource.  I mourned every drop I spilled and would never have imagined ‘wasting’ an ounce of it trying to grow something, despite how badly I craved anything green.”

This is what the villagers in Kalalé have to look forward to in four months.  The sooner we meet our fund raising goal, the sooner we can bring them relief.  We will be working hard to raise the necessary funds to do just that.  We are so grateful for the compassion you have shown through your generosity earlier this summer. Please share this with your friends and family so that they might consider helping us help the villagers in Kalalé.  Together, we can touch the lives of more than 1,000 families who simply want a glass of clean water.

Links:

• Read about the project on our website.
• Read about our work in Benin.