Rehabilitation Project
Upon completion of the project, our partner in the field reports...
Community Details
"You have changed everything with this pump." Elated to have secured access to an improved water source, 150 residents thanked Living Water and The Water Project for their help. The Lord was glorified through good works from the team throughout the week. During the well rehabilitation, the community was also involved and formed a 6-person Water Committee who also worked alongside the team to help secure water and who will likewise help to maintain the restored well.
In the south, the Living Water Burkina Faso team has expanded from the Bondigui commune to the Dolo commune, where the town Mayor has been very supportive of the team’s arrival and work in the area. There are many desperate communities surviving in the Dolo commune who, like Bougouriba, suffer the perils of walking long distances to collect unsafe water from unprotected wells, tube wells and springs. Desperate for immediate change, community leaders sought help from Living Water while the team was working in a nearby community. Since there are so many broken-down wells in the region, mayors from neighboring communes have come together to work alongside the Living Water team to accomplish clean water sources with durable materials and processes to ensure longevity of these precious pumps. The diversity among the communes is great, as they are comprised of five different people groups and languages. The local church is working tobring these physically and spiritually thirsty groups together, through the provision of safe drinking water. Using the well rehabilitation for God’s glory in Bougouriba was just this - a physical and spiritual success.
Hygiene Promotion
"We are very happy to you have come to train us, and it's very good for our population," shared one of 84 people that attended Hygiene Promotion. "We are going to do all the things you informed us, and will pass this information along to other villages, so they can learn the value of these good teachings. Thank you for giving us good counsel." Lack of adequate hygiene and sanitation practices were evident in the community, as open defecation, among other unsafe behaviors, was openly practiced. Dangerous illness was also widespread in the commune, specifically in Bougouriba, as malaria, cholera, dysentery and typhoid had affected many homes. During the hygiene and sanitation education, 184 people, including: 48 men, 25 women and 11 children, excitedly gathered to learn about the life-saving hygiene lessons promoted throughout the week. Using the Living Water Traditional Method, the team shared five principle hygiene lessons including germs, hand washing-proper techniques and water saving methods, good-bad hygiene behaviors, proper care of the pump and keeping the water clean. The lessons were all taught in a participatory method to help beneficiaries understand and discover new ways to implement community-driven solutions as they relate to making good hygiene and sanitation choices.
Community Member Interview
"It’s been two years and some months since our pump has been broken down," shared 46-year-old community member and Mayor Adjunct, Ouattara. "The Water Committees are functional, but with the collection fees, and since all of the other wells were broken down in the area, it was hard to find water. What I have seen today went straight to my heart. You have changed everything with this pump. I, and our village, am full of joy."
