“It takes a village” might be a phrase which originated in Africa, but it’s become an accepted sentiment in our modern society: no matter where you call home, everyone depends on a vast ecosystem of support for all aspects of our lives. Personal effort makes a difference, but when one or more societal infrastructures are lacking it’s all too easy for any amount of effort to fail to lift people out of poverty.
Aida Mbaye has served as the midwife in her village of Seno Bowal for over 25 years.
This is exactly what the village of Seno Bowal is facing. You may recall that last year we constructed a vitally needed health post here which was an immediate success… that is until their water tower broke down. A health post without clean running water isn’t much help. Thankfully they were able to find a temporary solution, but their water situation remains perilous.
For nearly a year residents of Seno Bowal had to rely on water brought in by donkey cart from a well six miles away.
“Here we are in a dry area, a very dry area. We do not have enough water. It’s very dry. We are not close to the river, we are not close to anything. We are depending on the rainy season.
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Lack of water prevents Aida from serving her community, but an even bigger problem is that the community cannot survive without water. Water is life!
Mother and daughter walking outside the village of Seno Bowal.
Bodiel Fall (left), representative of the village chief, first alerted Andando to the issue and helped to develop our planned intervention.
Seno Bowal is the water source for 10 villages and over 5,000 people, along with an additional 30,000 livestock! It is a vital regional resource, but unfortunately, they have struggled with insufficient water and breakdowns for years.
The good news is that the problem is solvable! The constant breakdowns stem from piecemeal temporary fixes which never addressed the root cause of the problem: an undersized well which simply can’t meet the demand.
Seno Bowal’s water tower, which has the potential to provide water for 10 villages and over 5,000 people!
We need your help to get water for Aida and her community.
We can drill a new deep borehole well which will solve this problem once and for all! Once the water problem is solved, we can then install a market garden which will not only provide year-round food for all 2,200 residents of Seno Bowal, but also help them remain on their ancestral lands.
Photo Caption: Members of Seno Bowal who will benefit from a new well and market garden that will allow them to remain on their ancestral lands.
How can we help?
We need to raise $50,000 to fix the water problem and install a new market garden. Will you walk alongside Aida so she can continue to provide quality medical care to her village and not have to worry if the water will turn on?